Thinning Line Between
by Bethie82
Summary: Hound is a broken man who has a mission he can't refuse or fail. Harumi is a medic who can't say no to her siblings. What do these two have in common? A young blonde who needs to be kept safe from someone or something. AU where Kakashi becomes Naruto's guardian and his life is turned upside down by a medic and her family.
1. Chapter 1

Hound was scrubbing the blood off of his armor, again. This time most of the blood was not his, a successful mission. Next time, he would request a solo mission. That way if something goes wrong, it will only be him that would get hurt, or if he was lucky he would get killed. Picking up the toothbrush that he was using to clean the seams of his armor, Hound plunged it into the soapy water and attacked the next blood stain, slowly the armor would be restored to its light gray appearance. A knock on the door interrupted his cleaning. Picking up the porcelain mask he set aside when he walked into his room, Hound put it back on. "Come in," he called, again focusing on the armor.

"The Hokage requests your presence right away," came a voice from beyond the door.

Frowning, Hound set aside the armor and walked over to the door, opening it, he saw one of the Cats at his door. "Now?"

"Right away Hound."

Nodding Hound turned and with quick and efficient movements, Hound put his still blood stained (although not as badly as it was twenty minutes ago) armor and walked out the door to his room in ANBU headquarters. Once he slipped outside one of the many doors hidden throughout the village, Hound shinshuned into the Hokage's office. He always thought of it as a perk to being ANBU.

"Ah, Hound, right on time," Hokage said, taking a deep breath through his pipe. Slowly letting the smoke out, Sarutobi looked at the man in front of him. Hound has grown in the past few years since he entered ANBU. He had come a long way from the child he was when the Fourth Hokage took Hound into ANBU. Sarutobi would like to think that ANBU had done Hound some good. That he had grown and worked though his depression. Sarutobi knew better than anyone that being able to focus on the mission was a time and true way to distance yourself from overwhelming feelings. So that you could deal with those feelings were not so raw. Hokage took a deep breath and said the phrase he had been dreading since a little boy was brought into the hospital last night. "Hound, it is time to take off your mask."

Hound froze as he processed what the Hokage had just said. The Hokage was telling Hound he was being fired… no retired, that is the word they would use. "Hokage-sama?"

"Take off the mask, I would like to talk to Kakashi."

Following orders without thought, Hound took off his mask and set it on the desk in front of him. "I can't leave ANBU, I need the missions, sir.." Kakashi tried to keep his voice from shaking as the implications of giving up the mask started to become crystal clear. "I need…"

"Kakashi, I have a mission for you," Sarutobi interrupted.

"Sir?" Kakashi was still confused. He wasn't in ANBU anymore, but he was needed for a mission?

"Before I tell you what the mission is, let me tell you what happened last night. Last night I was summoned to the hospital because a group on patrol found a little boy just outside the village, but not completely hidden in the trees. This boy was beaten so badly, the best medics are still unsure that he will live. This is also not the first time an individual or a group of people have tried to beat this child to death, however I have decided that this will be the last time. Since the boy is an orphan, it is up to me to ensure that he is safe and cared for."

"I am sorry about the boy, but what does this have to do with me?" Kakashi's thoughts were quickly spiraling out of control. Hokage could not be asking what Kakashi was thinking. It just would not work! "I can't take care of a child! There must be a better choice."

"I have already made up my mind, Kakashi."

Kakashi opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"Therefore, Kakashi, I am giving you the mission to protect this child and to investigate who the person or persons were that beat the child last night. Before you tell me no, I want you to come with me and see the boy. I will warn you, this is not a mission that you can turn down." Sarutobi stood up and walked over to the door, released the privacy seal on the room and walked to the stairs. Kakashi followed as Lord Hokage walked to the hospital. To one of the most secure rooms in the building. To the rooms ANBU like to receive treatment because it was hidden from view.

Opening a door, Sarutobi walked in and stopped. Kakashi entered, looked through the observation window and saw a small boy in the middle of a large seal pulsing with chakra. The boy was covered in cuts, open puncture wounds, in bruises, all in various stages of healing. The boy was so thin, Kakashi could see his ribs poking out through the skin on his chest. The fact that the child must have been starved did not shock the man, it was the bright blue eyes that were struggling to focus on something and the bright yellow hair.

Kakashi knew who this was! Turning to glare at the Hokage, "Tell me that is not Minato-sensei's son!"


	2. Chapter 2

The first night with Naruto in his house, was interesting is one word, awkward is another. Neither spoke much as Kakashi set out dinner, the take out ramen that Naruto liked. After dinner, Kakashi cleaned up, set up Naruto's cot and shortly after the two males went to bed. Kakashi woke up in the middle of the night on high alert. Two kunai were in his hands as he sat up looking for the danger. He didn't see anything that looked out of place. No smells that shouldn't be there, so it was a slight surprise to hear Naruto cry out in his sleep.

A nightmare, Kakashi thought as he put the kunai back under his pillow before standing up. Looking down at the little boy, Kakashi was once again struck with the thought of 'what do I do now?'. Slowly lowering his hand to gently pat Naruto on the head, with a quiet "It's okay, Naruto, you are safe." After a few minutes of this, Naruto's crying and whimpering didn't stop. Kakashi leaned down and ran his hand down Naruto's back, like how he would pet his ninkin. This seemed to have a better effect on the child. The whimpering had slowed and the crying moved from hysterical to a more controlled crying.

Naruto's eyes opened, seeing Kakashi standing there, Naruto did what any child does when seeing a safe adult. He launched himself at Kakashi. Crawled up into Kakashi's arms and buried his head into Kakashi's chest, continuing to cry, but not as hard.

Kakashi slowly ran his hand up and down Naruto's back. Listening to the crying boy drifting back to sleep, small hiccups spaced between the slow deep breaths of an exhausted sleep. Looking around, Kakashi tried to figure out what to do, he tried to set Naruto down, but Naruto tightened his grip on Kakashi. Finally unsure what else to do, Kakashi slowly walked back to his own bed and laid down with Naruto asleep on his chest.

Kakashi jerked awake for the second time. Before his brain caught up to what was happening; his body was already tossing the body onto the bed next to him with a kunai pressed into the person's neck. Once Kakashi's brain caught up to the fact it was Naruto and not an enemy, Kakashi quickly took both hands off of the boy, "Naruto, I am sorry.."

"That was awesome, Kakashi-san, can you teach me how to do that?" Asked the excited boy as he pushed against the bed to turn around. Yet the smile that lit up Naruto's face faded as the boy's face paled as he looked Kakashi. Wrapping his arms around his waist, Naruto started to rock back and forth, moving into the fetal position as he cried, "No, no, no, please no!"

Kakashi was shocked into stillness for a few minutes, trying to figure out what was wrong. The kunai was behind his back and besides, Hokage said that Naruto was at the Academy, so a weapon shouldn't cause this type of response. Naruto didn't act this way when they were introduced, so what was different. Lightning fast, the answer came to him. His Sharingan. Kakashi took off his mask and forehead protector while sleeping and this was the first time Naruto had seen his Sharingan. Reaching out to the nightstand, Kakashi quickly tied his forehead protector, so that his eye was covered before picking the boy up like he did last night. Slowly the boy came back to himself and Kakashi asked, "Naruto can you tell me what happened?"

Naruto shook his head in Kakashi's chest.

"Well then can you look at me?"

Naruto slowly raised his head, only to avoid looking at Kakashi's face. Kakashi waited patiently for Naruto to look at him. With a deep breath, Naruto glanced at Kakashi's face, only to take a longer look. His eyes took in the lack of a mask and the forehead protector covering Kakashi's eye. "What happened to your mask?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi smiled and replied, "I have the mask attached to my shirts, and since I am not currently wearing one, it is off. Besides it is nice to not sleep with a mask on." Watching Naruto nod a little, Kakashi asked again, "Naruto, why did you get upset when you saw my Sharingan?"

"Your what?"

"My eye," Kakashi gestured to his covered eye. "Have you seen one before?"

Naruto nodded, his face paling again.

"Did you want to talk about it?"

Naruto shook his head.

Kakashi shrugged, "I am here if you want to talk, Naruto. It is my job to protect you, from all the people in the world who want to hurt you until you are old enough to take care of yourself."

Naruto nodded, Hokage-jiji told him that when Naruto was introduced to Kakashi the first time. Jiji also explained that Kakashi would look after Naruto, like when he was at the orphanage, but better. Jiji also promised that Kakashi would become like a big brother to Naruto.

"So why don't you use the bathroom first and I will get started on breakfast. Do you have any requests?"

"Ramen?"

"How about some broiled fish and rice?"

"Okay." Naruto scrambled off of Kakashi's lap and ran over to the bathroom.

"First order of business. Ask Hokage about a bigger apartment. Second order of business, get Naruto some new clothes," Kakashi said. He looked at the worn tee shirt that might have been white at one time and the frayed dark blue shorts sitting on top of the cot Naruto slept in last night. Well at least he started to sleep there last night. Winter was coming soon, and the boy needed some warmer clothes. Kakashi pulled on a shirt but left the mask off as he took the five steps it took to go from the cot to his kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, Kakashi pulled out some fish he had in there and made some fresh rice.

Naruto walked out of the bathroom, and saw Kakashi drinking some tea and reading a book. "What are you reading?"

Kakashi showed the cover to Naruto, "A book Hokage gave me."

"What is it about?"

Kakashi looked at the cover. He felt that the title was pretty self explanatory. After all what else would a book called "Parenting for the First Time Parent" be about? "What does the title say Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked at the title, tilted his head and looked at it from a different direction. Still he didn't say anything. Kakashi was suspicious about why Naruto was not answering, when it occurred to him. "Naruto, can you read?"

Naruto looked at the ground but not before Kakashi saw the blush that stained his cheeks.

"Okay then. We have some errands we need to run today. So we will stop at the book store and get some books for you to practice your reading."

"You are not mad at me?" Naruto asked, hope evident in his voice.

"Why would I be mad?" Kakashi asked confused.

"The teachers always accuse me of pretending so I get out doing my work, and they always send me out of the classroom." Naruto answered.

"No Naruto, I am not mad. I am disappointed in the teachers at the academy for not noticing this before. But don't worry, together we will get you to where your classmates are and surpassing them soon."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now I need to you to sit down and we will eat, then I will take a shower before we go to the Tower and get our errands complete. You will not go to the Academy for a couple days."

Naruto flew to the table and quickly sat down. Kakashi stood up and moved the cooling dishes to the table. Besides the rice and broiled sole, Kakashi made a quick cucumber salad. Making sure to put a little of everything on Naruto's plate, Kakashi handed him the plate and a set of chopsticks. Watching Naruto eat the rice and fish, Kakashi ate his food.

"Naruto, you need to eat your vegetables too, a shinobi must have a balanced diet in order to grow healthy and strong."

Naruto frowned, "I don't like vegetables."

"You need to try some and we are not leaving this table until you have tried a bite of your cucumber salad."

Naruto frowned deeper and slowly picked up a single cucumber. He moved the chopstick studying the cucumber from different angles. Then he moved the offending vegetable towards his mouth. First he stuck his tongue out and let the cucumber touch his tongue and he scrunched up his face in disgust.

Kakashi watched in fascination as Naruto opened his mouth and put the cucumber inside, then with a single chew, Naruto swallowed, grabbed the water glass and drank the whole thing as if to wash the taste of cucumber from his mouth. Kakashi nodded and stood up, "Okay, if you're done, lets head over to Hokage Tower, I have a few things I need to discuss with Hokage-sama."

Helping Naruto put his sandals on, making another note to buy Naruto another pair. Kakashi and Naruto walked out the dreaded front door. Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to stop him from running down the stairs, and set the security seals on his door, before muttering, "Let's go."

The two males walked down the stairs and took the roads to Hokage's tower. Only a few people were out and about, mainly shinobi leaving for early missions or training. Kakashi could feel the chakra signatures of fellow ANBU as they returned from missions or training. He suppressed a sigh at being left behind but looking at the bright blonde hair of the child walking next to him, Kakashi remembered another blonde who became a second father to him. The constant guilt settled over his shoulders, Kakashi promised himself again that he would be the best guardian to Minato-sensei's son that he could. He wouldn't it be as good as Minato was, but he would do his best.

 **AN:**

 **So there we go, my idea. I saw a picture of Kakashi holding a crying Naruto and thought, "What would happen if Kakashi was forced to take care of a young Naruto? How would things change?" Hope you enjoy.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I can't believe I forgot this last time.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, just my OCs.**

Harumi walked her little brother to the Academy every morning, at least every morning that she was not at the hospital. Today Masahiro was trying to convince her that she needed to ask his friend's guardian to let his friend come over after school one day so they can work on homework together.

Smiling down at him, Harumi tells him once again, "Yes, Masahiro, as soon as I see your friend's guardian, I will ask him if your friend came come over to our house." The words are barley out of her mouth when her little brother looks down the road and yells "Naruto!" before dropping his lunchbox and running up the road.

Sighing Harumi picked up the lunch box and walk towards Masahiro and a young man, about his age with bright yellow hair. He is wearing an orange jacket, with matching pants, that should look silly, but surprisingly it doesn't. Standing next to the two boys is a tall man with silver hair that is in serious need of a comb or something. With his back facing her, Harumi couldn't see his face, but since he is dressed in the standard uniform of a shinobi, it is a fairly easy conclusion to draw that this is Masahiro's friend's guardian. Careful to keep her steps even, she tries to figure out who this man is from his back. As a medical ninja Harumi has treated a number of shinobi in our village. His height and his build should be a good indication of who he is, but he is slouching and she couldn't get a better idea of his height.

"Why do I work so hard to make your lunch if you are just going to throw it away on the ground like trash?" Harumi asked as she approached the small group.

"I am sorry Harumi, I was just excited to see my friend."

Ruffling his hair, Harumi handed him the lunchbox and smile, "I understand, but you need to be careful, you could have broken the cookies in there."

The blonde gasped.

Harumi turned to look at him and leaned down to her brother and in a stage whisper, "Introduce me to your friend."

Masahiro smiles, and nods, "Naruto Uzumaki, this is my sister Harumi Shimizu. Nee-san, this is my friend Naruto-kun."

Harumi knelt are they same height and bows her head slightly, "A pleasure to meet you Naruto Uzumaki. I have heard so much about you."

It was interesting to see this boy blush, but his smile was bright and lit up his whole face. Naruto's smile did not diminish at all when a large hand came down on his shoulder. Tilting his head back his smile got even wider.

Following his gaze, Harumi found herself looking at a face, half covered by a mask and one eye covered by his forehead protector. Looking into his one eye, she notes that it is almost black in color, then she realizes that she is staring and quickly smiles.

"Naruto, would you please introduce me to your brother?"

Naruto laughed, "This isn't my brother, this is Hatake Kakashi, he is my guardian."

Harumi sat patiently waiting for the rest of the introduction, having done this multiple times with her own brothers. Naruto looks from Harumi to Kakashi with his face screwed up in concentration before he says, "Kakashi, this is Masahiro's oldest sister Harumi. She is the one that sends the sweets to share."

Harumi smiled, remembering the way Masahiro had harassed her for three days straight, to get her to pack more sweets in his lunch because he wanted to share them with his new friend, who doesn't get a lunch like his.

 _"He doesn't have a big sister like me, or a mother, or aunt or anyone like that to make sure he has a sweet or two in his lunch, Nee-san. I just want him to have some."_

 _Masahiro looked so hopeful and he was trying to be nice to the child everyone made fun of, so she had packed a few extra cookies, but also a few extra vegetables, "You may share your sweets, so long as you share your vegetables also. The rule still stands, otouto."_

 _Masahiro frowned for a minute, but then he smiled and said that he is happy to share with his new friend. That was why Harumi was happy to pack a double portion in her brother's bento every morning._

Harumi stood up from her kneeling position, bowing her head respectfully, "It is an honor to meet you Hatake-san."

Kakashi inclined his head just a bit, his eye staring intently at Harumi, as if assessing her threat level.

Harumi is not sure what he sees in terms of her threat levels, but she knows that her clothing doesn't scream medical-nin, nor does it say "kunoichi on a mission." She is wearing a black short-sleeved, v necked shirt with a purple and black obi around her waist, a short black skirt with a long slit along one thigh and practical heeled shoes for working at the hospital. While her clothing didn't broadcast that she was a kunoichi, her lean muscles and assessing eyes did.

Nervously Harumi forced her "I am a medical-nin therefore listen to me" smile on before she continued, "I hope that it is okay that the boys share a lunch, Masa-kun was worried that Naruto-kun was not getting any sweets in his lunch. It is no trouble to pack extra, I assure you."

Kakashi glared at her from his one eye, "A boy can not live on sweets and rice alone."

Harumi nodded thoughtfully, "This is true, which is why we have the vegetable to sweet ratio," turning to look at Masahiro she asked, "What is the ratio, otouto?"

Obediently, in a monotone voice Masahiro answers, "For every sweet I want to eat, I must eat one vegetable."

Kakashi's eye widened as he looked at Naruto, "Do you also follow this rule?"

Naruto looked down at the ground and shuffled his feet, "I didn't, until Masa-kun told me that his sister always finds out when he doesn't eat the vegetables and then he doesn't get sweets in his lunch the next day. And then he pointed out that if I didn't eat the vegetables, then he would have too and that didn't seem fair."

Kakashi looked between Naruto and Harumi, his eye half closed in thought. "At least you are getting some vegetables everyday."

With a shrug, Naruto moves closer to Masahiro, "We should keep walking if we don't want to be late to school."

Harumi nods, "Of course Naruto-kun, a shinobi must not be late for his missions."

Masahiro sighs, "Nee-chan is always telling me to be better at being on time, but sometimes something is just more interesting than getting to school on time." He turns and smiles up at his sister, "Besides she has to get to the hospital on time, else the director yells at her."

Ruffling his hair as she smiles at both boys, she gently prods Masahiro to start moving. Naruto takes up the spot on the other side of her and without thinking, she ruffles Naruto's hair before placing her hand on his shoulder. Kakashi walks slightly behind the trio, listening to Harumi's asks about what they boys are learning, offering some advice when asked and listening as the two boys continue to talk about lunches and classmates. His eye continually watching the shadows for any threat, while continuing to assess Harumi's threat to Naruto. This is one mission that he will not fail.

"Nee-chan, you promised!" Masahiro hissed once the group made it to the Academy.

Harumi smiled and leaned down to press her cheek against her brother's and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, "I did promise and I will once you boys are in class." Turning slightly, she looks at Naruto and her heart breaks a little at the naked yearning in his eyes and she leans over and repeats the gesture with him before gently pushing them both towards their class.

Standing, Harumi glances at Kakashi and freezes as she sees the kunai in his hand, his expression blank and his eyes cold. Widening her stance to give herself a better defensive base, she raised herself to her full height and stared at him.

"What are you doing with Naruto?" Kakashi hissed.

Harumi swallowed and glanced at the weapon in his hand she tried to figure out what was going on. "My little brother has been talking about Naruto for weeks. I am just being nice to my brother's friend."

"Why?" Kakashi asked as he slipped the kunai back into the pouch on his back.

"Why what?"

"Why are you being nice to him? Most people are not."

"Naruto is a boy, an orphan child, my youngest brother's friend. Why wouldn't I be nice to him?"

Kakashi finally stood up from his fighting stance, "Most of the villagers are not nice to him. In fact they go out of their way to be cruel."

Harumi took a deep breath and shook her head sadly, "Kaa-san always told us that the life of a shinobi was filled with violence and to strike balance, and so that we didn't go insane, we must infuse as much kindness into our surroundings as we could."

"Does your mother mean to include Naruto in this philosophy?'

Harumi bit her lower lip before answering, "My parents are dead," taking a deep breath she continued, "if I can honor their memory by being nice to Naruto, then I will." Then she took a few steps closer, "I know that this is not the best time to ask, but I promised Masa-kun that I would ask if Naruto could come over to our house some time after school. I would make sure that I was home, and my other brother and sister will be there if they are not on a mission. Between the three of us we can help Masa-kun and Naruto-kun with all their homework, and maybe some target practice in our backyard."

Kakashi looked at the woman in front of him, schooling his expression, but she had successfully surprised him. She was looking him in his eye without looking away, which considering he was currently glaring at her, was a feat. Her face was surprisingly friendly with a smile firmly in place, if a little guarded in the eyes. Trying to understand this latest development, Naruto had a friend who wanted him to come over after class and play, or train. "I will have to get back to you about that. I hope you don't mind if I ask around about you?"

Harumi shook her head, "Not at all, you can ask anyone you want. If you would like some starting places…" she let her statement die as Kakashi shook his head.

"No I think I can find places to start. Will you be here after school?"

Harumi nodded, "Unless there is an emergency at the hospital, I will be here. If not then one of my siblings will be here."

 **AN: There they are my OC family. Let me know what you think of them. Is Harumi a Mary-Sue yet? Do you think Kakashi is too OOC?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only my OC family.**

Kakashi nodded once and jumped to the roof of a nearby building and made his way over to the Hokage tower to start asking questions about Harumi Shimizu and her family. Walking up the stairs to see the Third Hokage was always an interesting experience, but today, being on a mission made it feel more normal than the last visit had been.

The Third Hokage slowly stood up, his old face creased in a welcoming smile, "Kakashi, this is a surprise. Please sit," he gestured to the chair across from him. Once they were both seated again, Lord Hokage asked, "What brings you to my office this morning, Kakashi?"

Kakashi took a moment to collect his thoughts before answering, "Naruto has made a friend in the Academy and this friend would like Naruto to come over to play, one day. Since I don't know the family in question, I thought I would ask you what you know."

Kakashi watched as a pleased smile crossed the Hokage's face, "So our Naruto has a friend who wants to introduce him to the family. This is good, Kakashi."

"Yes, a normal childhood involves friends and interacting with families, but I need to make sure that Naruto will be safe in this house."

"Well you could always accompany Naruto to the house and watch the interactions between them."

Kakashi nodded his head slowly, "I could, and I will, but first I want to know what type of family are they. The oldest sister's name is Harumi Shimizu and she works in the hospital. Her parents are dead and there are other siblings besides Naruto's friend, Masahiro."

Hokage nodded thoughtfully, "Hmm, I seem to remember there being a medical-nin names Shimizu," raising his voice the Hokage called out, "Genma!"

A moment later a man in a with shoulder length hair, black bandana on and the standard jōnin clothing. "Yes Lord Hokage?"

"Isn't there a medical nin named Harumi Shimizu that works in the hospital?"

"Yes Lord Hokage, she is also one of the best battle field medical-nin we have right now."

The Hokage nods, "Yes, I remember now. I would like a copy of her file given to Kakashi, along with any relevant data we can give him about her."

"Yes Lord Hokage, but if you want some personal information about her, you should talk to Shikaku Nara, his wife is related to Shimizu."

The Hokage nodded and in a puff of smoke, Genma was gone. Kakashi shifted to stand up, when the Hokage waved him back to his seat, "Tell me what you know about this friendship with Naruto and the Shimizu boy."

Kakashi ran his hand along the back of his neck, "To be honest, I was not aware of the extent of the friendship until this morning. Naruto talks a little about his class, but for the most part, he likes to play with Pakkun and Bull after he is finished with his homework. Naruto is private while we are at home, I am not sure if it is because he doesn't want to talk, not sure how to talk, or not comfortable talking to me."

"I see, and how did that change this morning?"

"Naruto wanted to leave for the Academy earlier than we normally leave and since he was up, dressed and had his breakfast, I didn't see why that would be a problem. In fact I was happy because normally he is dragging his feet to get up and ready. While walking a small boy called out to Naruto and they started to talk, it was high pitched and loud. Then a woman approached the young boy and gently scolded him on dropping his lunch box. It was then I learned that the boy had been sharing his lunch with Naruto, specifically the sweets and vegetables."

"The vegetables?"

"According to the woman, she has a rule when it comes to sweets, to eat the sweets, you must have equal vegetables. Then Naruto said that he has been eating the vegetables because it would not be fair for his friend to have to eat all the vegetables or to not get any sweets."

The Hokage nodded thoughtfully, "A little bribery never hurt."

Kakashi frowned, his eye closing a little, "So after finding out about the lunches, she pat the boys on the head and walked between them as we all walked to the Academy. She talked to the boys about their classes, classmates and basically made encouraging noises at what they said. Then once we arrived at the Academy, she leaned down, pressed her cheek to her brother's, then she did the same to Naruto." Kakashi took a deep breath before continuing. "Not knowing what her motives were, I proceeded to arm myself and watch to make sure she was not going to do anything other than what she did with her brother. The boys went into the Academy and she turned around and we talked. It was then that she told me that she would like to invite Naruto to their house after school one day, that she would ensure that she was not working at the hospital to be able to watch over the boys and that her other siblings would be there so long as they were not on missions."

The Hokage nodded again, "I see. What are your impressions of the girl?"

"I don't know. She says that she wants nothing more than to put kindness into the world as her mother taught her. She is not what I thought she would be. She says that her motives are simple, to be nice to her brother's friend, but this could be just a ruse to get closer to Naruto to kill him."

"That would mean that she is using her little brother."

"I have heard of people doing worse, I have see them doing worse."

Before the conversation could continue, Genma reappeared with a medium size book in his hand, "As requested, the official file of Harumi Shimizu along with the official notes from her Jōnin leader when she was a Genin, and the notes from her Academy teachers. You will also find notes from the hospital administrator and those she has been on a team with." Placing a scroll on top of the book he continued, "This is a list of her living family and I saw Shikaku before I came here and he is willing to talk to you Kakashi, but you will need to hurry because his team is leaving on a mission soon."

Kakashi stood up, sauntered over to Genma and took book and the scroll offered, "Thank you, I will go and find Shikaku right away."

Genma nodded, "He said he was heading to the main gates."

With a nod and a slight head bow to the Hokage, Kakashi was gone in a flash of smoke. The Hokage looked at Genma, "You have seen her file, what do you think of the young woman?"

"I think she is very different from anything Kakashi has come across and he will not know how to handle her."

The Hokage nodded, "I think that may be a good thing in this case."

A short while later, Kakashi arrived at the main gates in a poof of smoke, in one hand was a bright orange book, while the other was in his pocket. Kakashi was leaning against the guard building next to the gate, reading his book while looking up every few words to check out his surroundings. While it looked to the world that Kakashi was reading his trademark book, in reality he was looking through the life of Harumi, which was not unusual, really. She is an average kunoichi with above average medical ninjutsu. All of her teammates have praised her for thinking on her feet and being a valuable member for both healing and offense. The most interesting pieces of information was that she was the sole guardian of all three of her siblings and her weapon of choice was poison.

"Kakashi!" a loud voice came from across the road.

Kakashi looked up and saw Inoichi Yamanaka, Chōza Akimichi and Shikaku Nara walking over to him.

"Genma told me that you were asking about my niece," giving Kakashi an assessing look as the shinobi gave the impression of smiling, "Want to tell me why?"

Kakashi quickly put his "book" away and simply said, "I am the guardian of Naruto Uzumaki and her youngest brother has become friends with Naruto. It is my duty as Naruto's guardian to ensure his safety and since I do not know Shimizu, I figured I should ask around."

Chōza frowned, "Isn't Harumi's youngest brother the same age as Shikamaru?"

Shikaku nodded, "Harumi's mother was the sister of my wife. She was an unusual Nara woman, in that she has more of my temperament. Both my wife's sister and her husband died on a mission about five years ago."

Inoichi grinned, "I remember thinking that genetics are strange that the same parents that had your wife, also had her sister who is the opposite."

Shikaku shrugged, "Harumi has been raising her two brothers and a sister since their parent's death. She quit being on an active team and started focusing on working in the hospital so that she could be available for her siblings. She comes to the compound at least once a week and lets everyone play or train together." Passing another assessing look over Kakashi's face as he watched Kakashi's slight widening of his eye, "Is there something specific you are wanting to know Kakashi?"

Kakashi smiled ruefully and ran his hand along the back of his neck, "Well she invited Naruto over to after school one day. This after she made enough food for her brother to share with Naruto. She said that she is trying to put some kindness into the world. I am just trying to make sure that Naruto will be safe." He finished lamely, seeing the three men share a glance and watching all three shake their head at whatever conclusion they have reached.

"Harumi is a gentle and kind soul, she is as smart as any Nara and a very accomplished kunoichi. If she says that she is just being kind, then that is all she is doing for now. She will keep Naruto as safe as she can while he is in her care. However if you are worried, I could always see if Shikamaru would like to play with the boys also and they could all come over to the Nara compound. I know that Yoshino would love to have all of you over."

Chōza smiled, "Really Kakashi, if you are worried, you can just go with them. It isn't like it is unusual for an adult to accompany their child to a friend's house the first time. Besides since Harumi is also new at the whole parenting thing, she will not get mad if you are a little over protective. Especially if she knows why you are over protective."

Inoichi grinned, "All good advice Kakashi. If you need more information about her, go and talk to the hospital staff. I am sure they can tell you all about her."

Shikaku nodded, "The best way to understand my niece is to talk to her Kakashi. I think she is one of the best kunoichi, she is hard working and dedicated. She plans missions with a single-minded determination. She takes care of her siblings and goes out of her way to help those around her. To be honest, Naruto could do a lot worse for a friend than Masahiro." Patting Kakashi on the shoulder, the three men turned and walked out the gate.

Watching their backs for a few minutes, Kakashi turns and leisurely walks down the road towards the hospital, pulling out the disguised book, he continues to read. He is still not convinced that her motives were pure, but the word of three shinobi he trusted helped to ensure he was on his way to trusting her. At the hospital, Kakashi talked to a few other medical nin and they all said the same thing, "Capable and very kind."

After walking out of the administrator's office, Kakashi felt he had a good idea of the type of person Harumi Shimizu was. Nodding to himself, thinking about how encouraging a relationship with Masahiro Shimizu could only benefit Naruto's growth. Even his childhood which was not normal by most standards, included some he could call friends, or at least friendly. Making a mental note to get to the Academy early to pick up Naruto and to talk to Shimizu about a date to bring Naruto over after school.

As if thinking about Shimizu somehow summoned her, Kakashi ducked into an unoccupied room as she walked past him, her head down as she read a medical chart, while one of the nurses pointed out things on the chart. Deciding to follow as close as he could, just to observe, he slowly starts to follow the two.

Oblivious to the shadow she acquired, Harumi focuses on what the nurse is saying. "They arrived about ten minutes ago covered in blood. The good thing is that the two were walking so we can rule out broken legs. But they refused treatment until you arrived."

"Okay, I think I can handle it from here. You said there were two of them, what happened to the other two?"

The nurse looked confused for a second before answering, "I don't know, but I will find out."

Nodding Harumi walked into the open bay that was a long rectangle shape. On the long sides, was a row of four beds, totaling eight beds in all. Between each bed was a cloth curtain. This was where shinobi were treated that were deemed a low risk patient. For the most part it is a place where broken bones were set, cuts were healed and blood cleaned up. Seated on one bed were two boys, according to the chart they were fifteen years old. One had dark brown hair that was sticking up straight out his head in all directions while the other had lighter brown hair that was pulled back into a low pony tale.

"I understand you wanted to see me for your treatment?" Harumi asked walking over to the boys.

The one with dark brown hair turned to look at her with a worried expression on his face. "Yes, your brother was in our Academy class, and Tsuzumi-sensei told us to come straight to you."

"I see, and did Tsuzumi give you anything for me, or did he tell you to tell me something?"

The one with lighter brown hair nodded and pulled a senbon from the pouch on his back. "Tsuzumi-sensei told us that you would need this right away. So we ran as quickly as we could to get it to you. He also said to tell you that they were poisoned thirty minutes ago."

Harumi quickly held out the medical chart, "Put it here. So you are telling me that your sensei gave you this senbon with poison on it, to deliver to me."

"Yes Harumi-sama."

"You were attacked thirty minutes ago?"

"Yes."

"How long until the rest of your team arrives?"

"They should be here within the hour."

"Were either of you hit with this poison?"

"No, Tsuzumi-sensei protected us."

Harumi nodded as she moved back to the door, "I will send someone in to help dress those wounds." Lifting the medical chart up closer, she leaned down to smell the senbon, poisons were always tricky, but hopefully this was a poison that the antidote was already known. Harumi was so focused on the poisoned piece of metal in front of her that she ran right into Kakashi who was standing on the other side of the door. Straightening Harumi stared at the silver-haired shinobi in front of her. "Hatake-san! What are you doing here?"

Harumi watched as he put both hands into his pockets, stand there and shrug. Silently counting to ten before shaking her head she continued, "I need to get this to the lab right away, if you were here to see me, you will need to walk and talk." Without waiting to see what he did, Harumi hurried down the hall to one of the labs on this floor. Kakashi's longer legs quickly ate up the distance between the two and together they walked down the hall, Kakashi observing Harumi, while she continued her inspection of the poisoned weapon.

Shouldering her way through an unmarked door, Harumi quickly put the chart down and without looking up from the piece of metal, she started giving orders, "I have two shinobi in ward two who have cuts that need tending too, also a group of shinobi who will be arriving soon that are poisoned. I need…" Before she could finish her sentence, a pair of gloves were set down on the table next to her as another medic put a rack of test tubes on the other side of her.

The final medic was walking out the door with a "I'll call a nurse to treat those shinobi for you and get the area ready for the injured."

Kakashi watched as Harumi absently nodded, pulled on the gloves next to her and picked up the senbon, then she placed it in one of the test tubes, took a liquid and added it to the tube. A small flick of her wrist she sent the contents of the tube spinning. After a little while, Harumi took the senbon out of the liquid and placed it on a small tray, then she started to put some of the liquid into the other test tubes.

One of the nurses came over and place four bottles of liquid. Taking each bottle and adding two drops of liquid to the test tubes with the liquid from the poisoned senbon and gently shaking each test tube, Harumi watched each tube to see if there was any change in color. Fortunately for the injured team one of the liquids turned bright orange. Standing up, she took the rack of test tubes over to the special sink and placed them inside the sink. Peeling off her gloves, she grabbed a scroll and a brush, "Emi-san would you please go to the supply room and get at least three bottles of this antidote and bring it to the ward?"

Emi nodded as she looked at the scroll handed to her, "Right away. I will also inform the hospital director of the poisoning."

"Very good," Harumi quickly walked over to another sink and washed her hands, "Hatake, is there something you wanted?"

Harumi was pleasantly surprised to see the one eyed Jōnin, but after the way he acted this morning, she was convinced that she should be trying to talk to Masahiro about Naruto not being able to come over. But the simple fact that Kakashi was still there waiting, make her a little hopeful.

She watched as Kakashi nodded, "I have some questions about your request, but it seems that you are busy and so what I have to say can wait."

Drying her hands, Harumi smiled, "I have a little time. If you would rather have this conversation in private, we can step into the office or one of the private patient rooms."

Kakashi shook his head, his eye closed in a smile, "We can talk in the hall, that way you can see when your new patients arrive."

Nodding, Harumi walked out of the lab and into the hallway. Stopping about half way down the hall. "What types of questions?"

Kakashi slouched against the wall and put both hands into his pockets, "Well I am sure you have heard about the stuff that Naruto has gone through recently."

Harumi nodded.

Remembering what Shikaku said, Kakashi continued, "You see, I am just worried. Naruto has never been to a friend's house before, and really I have never been the guardian of someone before, so I am just worried about, well everything."

Kakashi watched as Harumi's face went from guarded to understanding to finally something soft that Kakashi couldn't identify. "So I guess what I am asking is, would I be able to come over with Naruto?"

Harumi smiled, "Of course you can. We can have tea and watch over the children. Is there a day that will work better for you?"

Kakashi shook his head, "I don't know. I will have to check with the missions desk to see if they have anything for me, but I would think that tomorrow or the day after would be fine."

Harumi nodded, but before she could say anything, the hall was filled with voices shouting, or rather arguing about something. Turning her head, she saw two people, a man and a girl walking down the hall. The girl had the man's arm around her shoulder, as they stumbled down the hall, behind them was one of the newer members of the hospital a young man, about fifteen. The young man and the girl were arguing about what to do with the man draped over her shoulder. The door where the original two shinobi were being treated was flung open and the one with dark hair stuck his head out. With a cry of alarm, he raced down the hall and pulled the man's other arm across his shoulder and together the boy and girl walked to the infirmary doors.

Harumi glanced at Kakashi before she quickly followed the group, "I will be picking up Masahiro after school today, you can tell me then what day and I will make sure that I am available."

Kakashi watched as Harumi walked through the doors to the ward full of beds followed quickly by the three shinobi. Pushing up from the wall, he slowly saunters out to the front door. He never liked hospitals, but hospitals were a place full of information and the staff loved to gossip. He was satisfied with the information he learned, more to the point, he was satisfied that he could counter anything Harumi Shimizu could do to harm Naruto. But he begrudgingly admitted to himself that the possibility that she was going to hurt Naruto was small and the benefits of having another set of eyes on Naruto out weighted the potential harm. But that would not stop him from following her for the rest of the day and tomorrow.

 **AN: Tada! A play date has been established! As usual, let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters associated with the manga/anime.**

 **The Two Days Later**

"Naruto is coming over after school today, right?"

"Yes Masahiro, I told you yesterday that he was," Harumi was getting tired of answering that particular question.

"And Hideaki and Maiko will be here?"

"If they are finished with their training and missions by the time you are finished with the Academy, yes, they will be here."

"And you and Hatake-san will be drinking tea?"

Harumi sighed, "What is this about Masa-kun?"

"I just want Naruto to come over again, so everything needs to be perfect."

"He is coming over to work on homework and to play.."

"We are in the Academy Nee-chan, we do not play we train!" Masahiro interrupted her.

Harumi smiled, "Of course, my mistake. Naruto is coming over to work on homework and to train," placing a slight emphasis on the word, "not to see that everything is perfect. Just be yourself and act like you do during the Academy and everything will be fine." Pausing what she was doing, she took a closer look at her brother, "Why are you so nervous? Shikamaru comes over every week and you are not this nervous, even when he brings Chōji or when your brother or sister bring over a friend."

Masahiro looked down at his breakfast, "I just don't want to disappoint him. Ever since I told him that I would ask, he has been," he paused thoughtfully, "Not happy, but nervous I guess. From what I have overheard some of the other kids talking about and from what people have said to his face, Naruto is not well liked and he has always been on his own. I just want him to like it here."

Harumi stepped away from making lunches and went to wrap her brother in a hug, "Because you want him to be welcome, because you are his friend and because we love you, your whole family will do everything we can do to make Naruto feel welcome. While we can't change the past things done to him, we can focus on the present and what we hope for the future, which is letting Naruto know that our house is a welcoming place for him to make happy memories."

Masahiro perked up a little at the advice, "I can do that, Nee-chan. I will help Naruto feel welcome in our home."

Ruffling his hair, Harumi walked back to kitchen to finish making the lunches, "Now finish your breakfast else you will not be able to make your friend feel welcome in our home."

Setting the lunches she made for her other brother and sister off to the side, Harumi took the lunch box for herself and Masahiro over to the door and placed them down on the stairs next to their shoes. Walking back into the kitchen, she quickly put the tea kettle on the stove to heat the water as she heard her other two siblings come in from their morning training with their teams.

"After you two clean up, make sure you eat some breakfast. I have your lunches ready in the kitchen. Remember we will have company this afternoon, so if you can, be home."

Two voices reply, "Yes Nee-chan."

Maiko walked into the kitchen, "Can you check my wrist, I heard it pop while my team and I were sparing this morning."

"Of course," Harumi replied. Turning the tea kettle off as it whistled, she put the hot water into the tea pot with some green tea leaves before turning to see her sister sitting at the table with her wrist held out in front of her. Focusing her chakra into her hand, Harumi gently put her hand on Maiko's arm, right above her wrist, then the chakra in her hand started to glow green. Softly she sent her chakra into her sister's arm and was able to assess the damage before healing it. "It was a sprain, I think that your wrist is still weak from the almost break you had a few weeks ago. I would recommend taking it easy with that wrist for a few more weeks."

Walking over to the room next to the kitchen, where the laundry was, but also where Harumi kept her basic medical supplies, and locked inside scrolls hidden in the back were the not so basic medical supplies and poisons, not that her younger siblings would know about those anytime soon. But it pays to be prepared, a kunoichi never knew when she was needed for a mission. Taking out some bandages, she walked back into the kitchen and dropped the bandages in front of her sister, "Since you will ignore my advice when on missions, at least wrap your wrists tight, if you wrap both wrists, then no one will know it is because of an injury. You can tell them you are trying out a new look or something."

Maiko smiled, jumping up from her seat, grabbing the bandages, she gave Harumi a kiss on her cheek, "Thanks Nee-chan, you are the best!" Smiling she quickly walks to the stairs and goes to her bathroom to get cleaned up from her morning training. Harumi could hear the sounds of her brother finishing up his shower, so she poured him a cup of tea, "Time to go Masa-kun."

Masahiro quickly put rinsed his plate and put it in the sink. Hideaki came down the stairs, "I'll take of the dishes Nee-chan, you take otouto to the Academy so he can learn to be a shinobi like me," this was said with a slight smirk on his face, "And after the Academy, we will have tea with his new friend. It will be a good day."

Harumi pushed Hideaki's hair out of his eyes, "Thank you otouto, your tea is ready, breakfast is warming on the stove." Quickly she turned and walked to the door where Masahiro was putting on his sandals.

Shortly after they set off, the familiar outline of Naruto and Kakashi Hatake-san were visible. This time, Masahiro was able to keep his lunch box in his hand as he ran over shouting, "Naruto!"

Naruto turned and the bright smile crossed his face, "Masahiro!"

Harumi walked up to the group and once she had joined, they continued down the road. Harumi found herself wedged between the two little boys with Kakashi standing right behind them, this seemed to be their usual formation while walking to the Academy. Naruto and Masahiro were talking about a lesson that the teacher had promised and it sounded like they were very excited about it. However they boys were talking low enough that Harumi didn't catch the whole thing, but the tone of the conversation was filled with excitement. This left her free to think of how to entertain the two boys this afternoon. It shouldn't be too difficult, after all she has entertained Masahiro and cousins plenty of times.

About halfway to the Academy Masahiro tugged on her hand. Looking down she saw that both boys were looking at her, smiling at the two identical expressions of expectation, she said, "I'm sorry I didn't catch what you said. I was lost in my own thoughts."

Masahiro sighed, "You do that a lot, Nee-chan."

Unable to resist, she ruffled his hair and grinned, "It is part of being a medical-nin we are always thinking about cases, or about something that we need to add to the growing list of questions that need to be answered. Now what did you ask?"

Naruto looked up at her, and Harumi could feel sadness grip at her heart at the vulnerability, weariness and the fear in his eyes. "I can still come over after school? You don't have to say yes, it is okay. Kakashi-san said that I can start to train the puppies if I can't come over today."

Harumi knelt down in the middle of the road and turned Naruto to look at her, "You are most welcome to come over after school. Masahiro's brother and other sister will be there, and they promised to help with your homework. I have talked to the hospital, and unless something comes up that needs my personal attention, I will be right here waiting for you both after the Academy." Glancing over to smile at her brother she turned back to Naruto, "In fact I was invited over to the Akimichi house with Yoshino-obasan and we will be making some sweets for our tea. The whole family is very excited to see Masa-kun's new friend."

Naruto smiled and Harumi placed her hand on his shoulder and gently placed her cheek on his, "No need to worry, Naruto, no one in my family will ever make you feel unwanted. Enjoy your day at the Academy and Hatake-san and I will be here for you after class and we will enjoy our afternoon."

As she stood up to continue walking to the Academy, she glanced behind her at Kakashi and was surprised to see that his eye was wide, and she could faintly see the outline of an open mouth. Making a note to talk to him after the boys were in class, Harumi quickly and gently prodded the boys to keep walking. Keeping better track of the boys conversation, she found that they were back to talking about food, mainly the types of sweets they liked to eat. Shaking her head, Harumi was thankful when they came to the steps of the school, after ruffling Naruto and Masahiro's hair and patting them on the shoulder, Harumi turned to see Kakashi staring at her, his eye still slightly widened.

"Hatake-san, is there are reason you told Naruto that he might not come over today?" Harumi worked hard to keep that accusation out of her voice, but by the narrowing of Kakashi's eye she knew she failed.

Kakashi shrugged, "I always have backup plans in the event something goes wrong."

Harumi frowned, "I understand that, when on mission I always have backup plans for all possibilities that I can figure out, but this is not a mission, this is a little boy's feelings."

Kakashi shrugged again, "What do you want me to say, yes, we are talking about a little boy's feelings. A little boy that has been disappointed by everyone he had met, a boy that has been beat up by adults, had food thrown at him, even been thrown out of stores. This is a boy who until a few months ago lived in a shitty apartment where even cockroaches didn't want to go. The reason he was in that apartment alone was because those who were supposed take care of him, would take the money that was given them to take care of him and spend it on themselves and would only leave enough for the rent and maybe a meal or two for the week. The boy who had multiple "pranks" pulled on him where someone would tell him to come and meet someone and there a gang would beat him up."

With each new revelation, Harumi grew more and more horrified by what she heard. "Where were you in all of this?"

"I became Naruto's guardian a few months ago after an incident." Kakashi replied. "Before that, I was on missions."

Harumi nodded, although she was not sure why she was nodding, but she felt a response was needed. "Well I can understand your caution then. Will you be here on time today? Or should I take both boys home with me and you can meet me there?"

"I will be here."

Harumi nodded again, "Then I will see you this afternoon." Turning she prepared herself to jump up to the roof and run to the hospital, she needed the exorcise to burn off the anger and horror she felt with those quietly laid out facts about Naruto. In fact now that she had a moment to think about it, Kakashi had told her all of that horrible information without a single emotion reflecting in his voice, almost like when injured shinobi reported how injuries happened.

"I will come with you."

Harumi turned, "Huh?"

"I will come with you to the hospital, I am heading that way anyway."

"Okay then," with that, Harumi launched herself up and onto the roof, taking a second to orient herself she took off, making sure her jumps were timed at the beginning and the end of each roof. It might have been more effort to travel this way, but it was sure to get her emotions under control.

It only took a moment for Kakashi to catch up to Harumi, she wasn't going particularly fast, but her movements told him that she was using up a lot of energy to focus, while conserving her chakra. Kakashi was not sure what to think about Harumi's response to his giving Naruto something to look forward to, if this afternoon did not work out. After all, he was just trying to protect Naruto.

Before he could think of something to say, they had arrived at the hospital. He glanced at the kunoichi and gave her a smile which scrunched up his eye and a small salute before taking off in the direction of Hokage Tower. Jumping to the ground in front of the stairs leading up into the tower, Kakashi quickly made his way to the Hokage. Genma was seated at a desk in front of the Hokage's office. Seeing who was walking in, Genma quickly opened the door between his office and the Hokage's, "They are waiting for you Kakashi." Once Kakashi was inside, Genma closed the door and felt the burst of chakra with a seal activating, sitting at his desk Genma made sure to keep visitors away until this meeting was finished. With Shikaku, Kakashi, Itachi and Lord Hokage in a sealed office together could only mean something big was happening.

"Sit, Kakashi. We were just waiting for you," the Hokage said after he sent the ANBU guard away and set the privacy seal. "We were just talking about young Naruto and his new friend."

Kakashi slumped into a chair between Shikaku and Itachi after giving both men a nod of recognition. "Shimizu-san has made it very clear that her family is excited to have Naruto over and some of that excitement has bleed over into Naruto. I am told that she will be making sweets with her aunt and friends right before we are to pick up Naruto and her brother. Then we will procced to her house where tea, homework and training will begin."

The Hokage nodded, "I have arranged that there will be no interruptions to that plan. The hospital director knows that nothing short of immediate death by poison that only Shimizu Harumi can heal will be cause to call her to the hospitals. I have also let the missions officer know that there will be no missions for the rest of the Shimizu family today."

Kakashi was shocked, he had no idea that the Hokage had been meddling this much or had so much invested in this after school activity for Naruto.

Shikaku smiled, "After my mission, I went and talked to my wife, she knows how important this invitation is to Masahiro. Harumi has spoken at length about how this is the first time that Masahiro has shown any interest in a friend outside of the Academy or family. So my wife has decided to help out in any way that she can."

The Hokage smiled, "That is good then, there will be a lot of help ensuring that this friendship is able to blossom. I know that I do not need to remind you all about how important it is for Naruto to love this village and its people. It is regrettable and a mistake on my part to stay away from Naruto as long as I have. However we have the opportunity to ensure that mistake is the only one that is made," Hokage slammed his hand down on the desk.

Only Kakashi's training kept him from jumping at the sudden noise, but he did slump down further in his seat, just to prove that he was not affected by the noise.

Hokage continued, "Kakashi, have you gotten anywhere on the investigation into who attacked Naruto?"

Sitting up straighter, Kakashi answered, "The only new piece of information that I have is that Naruto is afraid of the Sharingan, so afraid in fact that just the sight of mine caused him to curl up in a ball and start silently crying."

The Hokage frowned, "So we are looking at someone in the Uchiha clan?"

Kakashi glanced at Itachi before nodding his head.

The Hokage frowned, "Itachi, have you heard anything about the Uchiha wanting to harm Naruto?"

Itachi shook his head, "No, I haven't."

"So we might have another Sharingan user, a rogue faction within the Uchiha clan or the clan leaders don't trust you," Hokage mused, "That is too many possibilities. Okay, as of now, Kakashi and Itachi you will be working together I have decided that until we know differently you will run these investigations as a single investigation. I give you both permission to share all of the information you have collected in both of your in investigations. If what is going on in the Uchiha compound has to do with the attack on Naruto, then we will have a bigger problem than before."

Shikaku looked at the Hokage and frowned, "What do you mean the attack on Naruto?"

"Three months ago Naruto was attacked and beat up to the point that the medical nin were not sure he was going to survive. Since that time I had Kakashi appointed as Naruto's guardian and have had him watching over Naruto while investigating who could attack a child that viciously. However, there is not a shortage of people who want to do harm to Naruto, but so far none have proven to want to do more than short term harm."

Shikaku frowned, "Lord Hokage, is there a chance those around Naruto will be the next target?"

The Hokage shook his head, "So far that has not been a concern, if it were, then the responsible parties would have tried to attack Kakashi."

"Pardon sir, but Kakashi is known far and wide a deadly shinobi, I doubt that a group of people would go after him, but that same party might go after a lone woman or another child," Shikaku interrupted.

The Hokage nodded, "You are correct, but I have been told that your niece is a very capable kunoichi and the next two siblings are growing to be capable shinobi. As for the youngest he is not out of sight of his siblings for long."

Shikaku frowned deeper, but before he could say anything else, Hokage looked at Kakashi, "I know that you and Itachi can work well together. You will need to coordinate your information and make sure that Naruto is not left alone."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Kakashi and Itachi replied together.

"Good, now that we can agree that this afternoon will happen, all of the children will be happy and enjoy a relaxing afternoon. Shikaku, I would like you to keep an ear out for anything that your niece might be thinking or feeling about Naruto and anything surrounding him. Report these findings to myself, Kakashi or Itachi. That way if something bad is happening, we can cut before it becomes a major problem." Dispelling the seal, the Hokage waved his hand dismissing the three men as the silent ANBU bodyguard returned.

Shikaku turned and looked Kakashi in the eye, "If it looks like someone is going to make a move on my nieces or nephews, I will move them into Nara compound to keep them safe. My wife will never forgive any of us if we let something happen to her beloved sister's children."

Kakashi straightened in his seat, "You will be the first to know if someone is going to harm your family, Shikaku."

Satisfied Shikaku stood up and walked out. A moment later, both Kakashi and Itachi stood up and walked out the door. Walking down the hall, with unspoken agreement, they walked the short distance over to the roof of the hospital.

"Why are we here, senepi?" Itachi asked.

"I am surveying Harumi, to learn more about her and how she thinks," Kakashi answered.

"Hn," Itachi replied, not sure what to think about this information, however he knew enough not to comment on why Kakashi was stalking the sister of his ward's friend. "So your investigation has shown that a Sharingan user is the one who beat up Naruto?"

"Or at least had something to do with it, whether it was instigating the beating or just a genjutsu pushed onto Naruto during the beating."

"I will check those who are capable of such an action, to see if they have sustained any injuries. I can also look into the clan medical records. But why would the Uchiha want to hurt Naruto?"

Kakashi shrugged, but his attention was on the dark haired kunoichi walking quickly out of the hospital before taking to the nearby roofs to hurry to the direction of her home. "Where is she going?" Kakashi asked to himself before quickly suppressing his chakra and following her. "That is the question I am trying to figure out, however you might have a better idea if you talk to some of your clan members. You continue your investigation, Itachi. I will follow up on mine. We can meet back in a few days to continue to compare our findings. However if you find something important, just send a message through your summons. I will do the same."

Itachi nodded as the silvered hair jōnin leapt across the roof, following the woman. Making note to tell Tenzō about Kakashi's strange behavior and ask him why their reserved and lazy leader was suddenly following a woman around. Itachi jumped down and slowly walked to the Uchiha compound.

Knowing that Itachi was going to be wondering about his behavior but not caring, Kakashi followed behind Harumi quickly and quietly. Watching Harumi drop off the roof and land in front of her house, Kakashi stationed himself so that he could see the front and back doors as well as most of the windows. Taking out his book, just for form, Kakashi tried to figure out what had Harumi moving so quickly. It didn't take a genius to guess that it had something to do with a medical emergency, but Hokage had been assured that there would be no medical emergencies for Harumi today. Kakashi's guess was confirmed when Harumi jumped out of her window minutes later wearing a pair of black pants, a mesh armor shirt and a vest thing along with a lumpy hip pouch and a shuriken pouch on her leg. As she was running across the roof tops, Harumi pulled on a pair of fingerless gloves with a bit of armor on the back of her hand.

Kakashi followed behind as she made her way to the East Gate. Watching as she dropped off the roof and run the rest of the way to the gate, Kakashi stayed on the rooftop. Watching Harumi look around her, Kakashi instinctively held very still. Assuming that she is looking for her teammates, Kakashi just stayed where he was, just in case. Not even five minutes after she arrived, two other jōnin arrived. After a brief word, all three took off out of the gate in a hurry in a single file line with Harumi in the middle.

 **AN: The longest chapter yet and the plot thickens!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I just own Harumi and her family.**

 **That Afternoon**

Harumi arrived at the Academy with about ten minutes to spare before classes got out. She took the time to deal with the hurt she felt every time she remembered what Kakashi said earlier, to deal with the fact he did not trust her. Although after hearing what Naruto has gone through, it was understandable, but it still hurt. Taking a deep breath, Harumi allowed herself to focus on the hurt, then with effort she took another deep breath and slowly she let go of the hurt as she exhaled. Now to plan to get Kakashi to trust her, although from what she has heard from other shinobi, Kakashi does not trust easily. But she needed this to work for Masahiro and if she were honest with herself, she needed this to work for herself also. Harumi was starting to doubt herself as her brother's guardian because he was so isolated from his peers, by choice.

When given the choice, Masahiro would always choose to be with family, not going outside of the established circle of friends for companionship. In fact, if it wasn't for the extensive Nara family, Harumi was convinced that Masahiro would only spend time with her and their other siblings. This was the cause of many talks with her aunt, but it always ended with children are different and Masahiro was interacting with other children his age and was not disliked among his peers, so it was not a big worry. He was a little shy, but fiercely loyal to those he called friends. But now that Naruto has come on stage in Masahiro's life, Harumi was convinced that she must keep him there because Naruto has been such a good influence on her brother.

Harumi smiled ruefully, well good if you call boys playing pranks and causing mischief at the Academy. Which in this case she did, because these are things that boys do with their friends and as her Father would always tell her Mother that a little mischief was good training for when they became shinobi. Feeling her lips widen a little at the memory of one such conversation shortly before her parents went out on their last mission. Hideaki was a few years older than Masahiro is and Hideaki and a few friends decided to sneak into one of the classrooms and used a huge amount of wrapping paper to wrap all of the desks, the teacher's podium and the blackboard.

"This is good for boys this age, it creates bond that will last them into adulthood," Father had stated.

"He disrupted the entire class and showed no respect to the teacher!" Mother had replied.

"He played a harmless prank on a teacher that did nothing more than give them extra duties after school. The whole situation was handled without having to go beyond the teacher."

"What are we going to do? This behavior can't continue."

"I recommend that we have Hideaki work with Maiko on her homework."

"How long?"

"For a week, I think. Or at least until I get back from my next mission. That should only take two weeks."

The sound of children's voices filled with excitement quickly pulled Harumi from her memories. She looked and saw many parents and older siblings have arrived to pick up their students, however one silver haired shinobi was noticeably absent. Shrugging her shoulders Harumi waited for Masahiro and Naruto to show up. Seeing the two boys talking excitedly to two other boys, Harumi felt her smile get wider, it was good to see Masahiro with friends. The two boys quickly walked over to their parents, while Harumi walked closer to her brother and Naruto.

"It looks like Hatake-san is not here yet, so why don't you two play on the swing while we wait," Harumi gestured to the swing. While the boys raced to see who would be able to swing first, Harumi walked over to lean against the wall in the shade of the tree. Keeping an eye on the boys, she let her mind wonder back to the good memories of her parents. When thoughts of _that_ night started to intrude, Harumi forced them back into the box of memories she didn't touch.

Not sure what alerted her but following that instinct because it has kept her alive during missions, Harumi straightened up from the wall and slowly looked around the yard. Not seeing anything on ground level, she raised her eyes upwards and studied the roof tops and the tree tops. Not being able to shake the feeling that she was being watched, Harumi slowly walked closer to the two boys and placed one hand on her hip and the other held loosely at her side. Thankfully today instead of her normal short sleeved shirt, skirt and heels, she was wearing her mesh armored shirt, a long purple and black vest zipped halfway up the front, a pair of form fitting black pants, her kunoichi sandals and her shuriken holster completed the outfit. Slipping her right hand that was resting on her hip slightly she slipped her fingers into her shuriken holster and gently pulled the knife out by the small ring and hid it against her hip.

Glancing at the boys, she saw that they were still focused on seeing who could swing higher game. This allowed her to look around again, this time flaring her chakra out to see if she could spot what was making her jumpy. Still not seeing anything that should cause her alarm, she was about to put her kunai back when she heard the softest whisper of something landing on the ground. Harumi quickly spun, placing herself between the two boys and the noise. She stood up, from her defensive crouch,

"Hatake-san, it is good to see you," turning so her kunai was away from the boys, she unobtrusively put the kunai back into her hip pouch. "We were just waiting for you."

Kakashi was surprised that Harumi was able to sense him when he arrived. He wanted to take a few minutes to observe her with the boys, but within moments of him arriving hidden, she started to move. At first Kakashi thought she intended to do some harm, but then he saw how her eyes scanned the area looking for the threat. As much as it bothered him to admit, Harumi had impressed him, even as he dampened his chakra and slid further into the shadows. He was also impressed by how casual she was when she armed herself, ensuring the children were not made aware of her actions, even after he jumped down and she placed herself between the threat and the children.

"I am sorry I am late, Shimizu-san, I got caught up in something," not a lie, but still not the whole truth. "Should we go?"

Harumi smiled, "Of course. Masahiro, Naruto, time to go and get tea."

The boys whooped and yelled excitedly and ran down the road towards Masahiro's house.

"I hope that we did not take you away from anything important," Harumi said as the two started to follow at a slower pace.

"Nothing important," Kakashi replied. Belatedly he continued, "Did you get everything done that you needed too?"

Harumi smiled, "Yes, it was difficult, but I think making sweets is the way to go for this first time having Naruto over."

"First implying there will be more."

"Well I do not foresee anything happening to change having Naruto over, at the very least it will give you a break if you need one. I know that I always welcomed a little time to myself."

"Hm," came the reply. Used to the none answers her siblings give her when she asked questions Harumi didn't give it much thought.

"Masahiro, Naruto, do not get too far away!" Harumi raised her voice. Not that anything would happen, but the streets were busy this time of day and it would be easy for the boys to slip away or if Kakashi were to be believed, for someone to throw something or try to hit them. Ensuring the boys slowed down to wait for them, Harumi raised her eyes to look Kakashi in the eye, "I don't like playing games so I will tell you straight away, the fact you do not trust me hurts. However I understand why you want to take care of Naruto's feelings and expectations. I just want you to know that I will not intentionally do anything to hurt him or endanger him. He is the first friend that Masahiro has made outside of family and I will not ruin that."

Kakashi could hear the warning behind that statement and nodded and remembering how protective Shikaku was of this woman, he continued, "Trust is something that needs to be earned and while I do not trust you, I will do my best to not interfere with Naruto's friendship."

Harumi nodded, "That is all I ask," seeing that they were just a minute away from their house, Harumi called, "Boys, don't just run into the house, Masahiro, show Naruto where to put his shoes and jacket before you wash up."

"Yes Nee-chan!" came the sing song replay of a little boy who heard this before. Rushing up the stairs, Masahiro slowed down enough to open the door before rushing into the house.

Sighing Harumi followed, opening the door wider so Kakashi could come in. Slipping her sandals off, Harumi followed the progress of the boys by the sounds of them washing their hands. Kakashi slipped his sandals off and followed her into the kitchen. She lit the burner under the tea kettle and turned to wash her hands.

"Please, sit and make yourself comfortable, they boys should be ready soon and as long as they do not get distracted, they will be here as soon as the tea is done."

The boys rushed in, arms and legs flying as they went to sit down. Turning Harumi gave Masahiro a glare, which quieted him down even as he gave her an innocent smile. Picking up the plate of sweets, Harumi placed them in the center of the table. Then she heard the door open and walked over to get the other plate of sweets.

"Clean up, Maiko and Hideaki, tea will be ready in a few minutes."

"Yes, Nee-chan," came two voices, followed by the sound of feet making their way upstairs.

Setting down six plates on the table, Harumi asked as she walked back to the stove to wait for the water to boil, "What did you learn in school today Masahiro?"

"Sensei had us reciting the rules of the shinobi and practice our shuriken throwing."

"How did you do?"

"I need more practice, but I can hit what I aim at."

"We can practice after your homework is done," Hideaki said walking into the room, closely followed by Maiko. Harumi turned to smile at her other siblings when the matching frowns stopped her. "Why are you wearing your mission gear?"

Harumi felt the eyes of everyone on her, one eye was cold as it reassessed her appearance. "There was an emergency and I was called to go," Harumi shrugged.

Kakashi frowned behind his mask, even knowing that his guess had been correct, it was still worrisome because Hokage said that nothing was going to get in the way of this meeting, but apparently the hospital administrator decided this was an emergency. What happened must have been very bad.

"Can you tell us anything else?" Maiko asked.

Harumi smiled sadly as she turned to stove off and poured the boiling water into the tea pot. "A training mission accident, nothing more, nothing less."

Kakashi could hear the lie easily, from the frown on the oldest boy's face, he could hear it too. But if that was all Harumi could say, then that is all she would say on the matter. Secrecy was important when being a shinobi.

Setting the tea pot on the table, Harumi sat down and gestured to her brother and sister to do the same. "Let me make introductions, Hideaki, Maiko, this is Naruto Uzumaki and his guardian Kakashi Hatake. Naruto, Hatake-san, these are our other two siblings, Hideaki and Maiko. After tea, Naruto and Masahiro, you will do your homework, and then and only then can you go outside where Hideaki has promised to help with your aim. Now tell me about your day Maiko."

Maiko sighed, "We had to weed some lady's garden and paint the fence."

"How is your wrist?"

Maiko held up her arm, "It doesn't hurt, however Sensei said that he would like you to look at it again after our training session tonight."

Harumi nodded and poured tea into the cups in front of her, she then passed them to each person at the table, then she quickly placed different sweets on plates and passed those around the table. "I can do that, if you want I can wrap your wrist for you before you go."

"Yes please, Nee-chan. That way I can do it for myself later."

"Of course. How about you, Hideaki? How was your day?"

"It was okay, I have been working with Oji to get better with my shadow possession jutsu and my team is preparing for a mission tomorrow."

"How is your jutsu coming?"

"I can possess four people now and my range is getting bigger."

Harumi smiled, "That is great Hideaki. Do you need anything for your mission tonight?"

"Could I get some extra first aide things? Sensei says we need more."

"I can get the scrolls for you before you go. What were you looking for?"

"The usual, bandages, ointment and some of that antidote you used to heal Noji's sensei the other day."

Harumi sat up straighter, "That antidote requires an exact amount administered, depending on the time since exposure to the poison."

Hideaki shrugged, "Well do you have something that doesn't require math to be administered?"

Harumi found her thoughts tangled, her brother is going to do something in the same location as the team she helped purge the poison from a few days ago. If only she could keep him from going, it is not safe for him. But if she were honest with herself, it was not safe for anyone. "Let me think about it for a little bit. Worst case scenario, I will give you smaller dosage preloaded syringes."

Hideaki and Maiko both wrinkled their noses in disgust at the mention of needles. Harumi smiled a little, "If you can't give your teammates a shot, then you shouldn't go on missions. Besides, your sensei should be the one to administer the antidote, since he is the most versed in field medicine."

Masahiro nodded, "You can stab someone with a kunai, but not a needle? That is weird, Nii-san."

Hideaki glared at Masahiro and opened his mouth to say something, not sure what it was, but sure it was not going to be nice since Hideaki did not like having his weaknesses pointed out. "Masahiro, everyone has something that they must overcome, when I was learning to be a medic, I had to overcome many things that I didn't like, including using a scalpel to cut into my friends and team mates. It is just part of learning to be a shinobi."

Masahiro looked skeptical, but quickly shut his mouth when Harumi put another dango on his plate.

"Naruto, how is your shuriken throwing?"

Naruto looked up from his plate, where he was stuffing as much food into his mouth as he could and taking small sips of tea between mouthfuls. "It is okay, Sensei said I need more practice."

Harumi smiled, "Well you are in luck, Maiko is excellent with shuriken, she has been told she equals the Uchiha clan with her technique."

Naruto looked at Maiko with a tentative smile, "Really? You would help me?"

Harumi watched her sister smile at Naruto with the same smile she reserved for close family, it was open and warm and full of laughter, "Of course, but before you can throw a shuriken, you must prove that you can hit what you aim at."

"Maiko, I just got the back garden cleaned up, I am not going to have it full of mud again!"

Maiko grinned, "I promise the garden will not be filled with mud, Nee-chan."

Harumi sighed, "I doubt Hatake-san will be happy if you cover Naruto in mud before he can go home."

Maiko, Hideaki and Masahiro all shared a mischievous grin, "He won't be covered in mud either, Nee-chan."

Harumi rubbed her forehead, "I am going to regret this, aren't I?"

"Possibly," Masahiro replied, the same reply that has been given for the past five years anytime she asked that question.

"Finish your tea, all three of you. Homework and chores first, training after!" Laying down the law, Harumi quickly took another sip of her tea. Naruto and Masahiro finished very quickly and set their dishes in the sink, while Hideaki and Maiko finished at a slower pace, but still cleaned up after themselves. Leaving to presumably go to their rooms to get ready for either training or a mission. Setting her tea down, she looked over at Kakashi, "Did you want any more of the sweets?"

Kakashi shook his head, having eaten a bite of each sweet on his plate while everyone was distracted by the conversation, "No thank you. It was good. I am surprised you were able to makes these and still go out to help in a training mission."

Harumi shrugged, "Instead of doing a couple hours of work at the hospital, I ended up doing four hours in the field. Oba is used to me having medical emergencies and she made some for me and the rest I was able to do when I returned."

"You seemed upset by the idea of having to give your brother the antidote, why is that?"

"Because by asking for the antidote, he is saying that he is going to the same place as his friend's team, even against the same people. In most cases, antidote is fine, it boosts the person's natural resistance to a poison. However there are a number of instances, where the antidote is just as dangerous as the poison itself. This is one of those cases. This means that I have to send my little brother out where he knows there is a strong possibility that he will be poisoned and he will only have a basic knowledge of medical ninjutsu and my antidote."

Kakashi frowned, "Your antidote?"

"Yes, well I helped to create it. This family of poisons has been a problem for us for a while and we sort of stumbled across this antidote, but it is very dangerous and should only be used in extreme cases. If possible, one should purge the poison, it is much easier on the body."

"Nee-chan, we are done! Can we go train now?"

"Let me see the work." Anticipating the statement, Masahiro was already handing the paper over to her for inspection. "Alright, you two can go, make sure you knock on doors and not just yell."

Nodding, Masahiro and Naruto rushed up the stairs yelling for Hideaki and Maiko. Harumi sighed. A minute later, four bodies walked quickly through the kitchen, two were being pulled along by the smaller and more enthusiastic of the group.

"So what are you going to do?" Kakashi asked, continuing the discussion.

"What I always do, figure out how to make the antidote as idiot proof as possible."

Whatever Kakashi was going to say, was interrupted by a loud crash from outside. Since her siblings and Naruto were all out there, Harumi didn't think anything of it, until she saw that Kakashi was frozen. His eye wide, but the pupil was constricted, she was sure that she could see the outline of an open mouth under his mask. Then almost as quickly as the unnatural stillness came, it left in a flash as Kakashi rushed to the door leading to the garden. Following just heartbeats later, Harumi arrived just in time to see Kakashi stop in front of a stunned Naruto and equally shocked Maiko.

With some satisfaction, Harumi saw that Maiko had moved one leg back slightly, distributed her weight evenly between her two limbs and moved her arms away from her body. But since she didn't raise her arms, it looked like a natural pose.

Walking slowly to stand between her sister and the silver haired shinobi, Harumi gently moved Maiko back. Letting her eyes take in the scene around her, Harumi noted the target normally propped against an outer wall is currently in pieces on the ground. Masahiro and Hideaki were in front of the other target frozen, with Hideaki in front, between his little brother and Kakashi.

"Maiko, what happened?"

"Naruto and I were throwing rocks dipped in water at the target so that I could see how his aim is, when the target exploded."

Kakashi glanced at the target and forced himself to relax. Or at least look like he was relaxing. The younger three relaxed, but the older two Shimizu children stayed at high alert, but this time looking around the tops of the surrounding houses to see if they could figure out what happened.

"This wasn't one of the targets that had been filled with explosive tags, was it Hideaki?" Harumi asked looking at the damaged target.

"No, Nee-chan, I took those with me to the training grounds a couple days ago," Hideaki replied.

"Did it explode towards you all or away?" Harumi asked.

"Away," Maiko answered.

Both Kakashi and Harumi knelt to look at the damage. Harumi could see the wet spots where the stones hit. Harumi couldn't see anything wrong with the target, well if you ignore the fact that it is in pieces. Leaving Kakashi to examine the target, Harumi looked around trying to see anything that was out of place. Still not seeing anything, Harumi looked over at Kakashi and frowned, his forehead protector was up and is left eye was exposed. She heard rumors, but since she had never been called to treat him, she had never seen Kakashi's Sharingan. Well he wasn't called Sharingan no Kakashi for nothing.

"Maiko, Hideaki, Masahiro and Naruto, please go into the house. We will have to postpone our throwing training until we can figure out why this target exploded."

"Yes Nee-chan," the older two replied, slowly ushering the younger two into the house. Harumi could hear Maiko tell Naruto and Masahiro that she would let them help her pack up for her training mission tonight.

"It looks like there is a small hole in the target," Kakashi mused pointing out the hole. Pulling out a kunai from his leg holster, Kakashi glanced at Harumi. Harumi nodded and watched as Kakashi stuck the kunai into the target, keeping away from the hole and opened the target. Inside was a small object. Smaller than a standard issue kunai and shaped more like a senbon. Kakashi slowly pulled the metal object from inside the target dummy and held it up to the light. "Interesting," Kakashi muttered. Tilting the metal in Harumi's direction, "What do you see?"

Harumi leaned closer and with a glance at Kakashi she held her hand out. Kakashi placed the metal in her outstretched hand. Harumi tilted it from one side to another and gasped. "There is writing on it!"

"Can you read the writing?"

Harumi squinted and turned the metal thing to look at it from different angles, "I can't," she finally replied.

"Would you mind if I took this to a friend of mine? They might be able to figure it out," Kakashi asked cautiously.

"Not at all, just let me know what it is?" Harumi replied.

"Of course." Kakashi slipped the metal thing into his hip pouch and together the two of them walked back into Harumi's house.

"What is it?" Hideaki asked.

"I don't know," Harumi replied truthfully. "Kakashi-san is going to try and find out."

"I would like to know if this was directed at my family," Hideaki said, bravely staring at Kakashi's single eye.

"Of course," Kakashi eye smiled, "What I know about this, you will know. Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"Time for us to go, it is almost dinner time and we still need to go and pick up some food for the pups."

"Yay!" Naruto cheered.

Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Oh yeah," Naruto scratched the back of his head and bowed to Masahiro then to Harumi, "Thank you for inviting me to your home. I enjoyed myself and I hope to return the," Naruto paused for a minute, "invitation?" He glanced over at Kakashi who nodded. Then Naruto grinned and stood straight again.

"It was our honor to have you and Kakashi-san over. I hope we can do this again soon," Harumi replied, bowing her head in Kakashi's direction. Then she walked with them over to the door and slipped on her shoes and walked with them to the street. "We will see you tomorrow on our way to the Academy," Harumi said and gave Naruto a one-armed hug and ruffled his hair.

"See you tomorrow!" Naruto waved and took off down the road at a jog.

"See you tomorrow, Harumi-san," Kakashi said before taking off after Naruto.

"See you tomorrow," Harumi called, waving her hand. It was only after the two bodies had disappeared from her vision that Harumi turned around and went back inside.

"Dinner is easy, so it will be ready in a few minutes," Maiko called from the kitchen.

Harumi sat down at the table and sighed, "A successful play date."

"I think so."

"I hope Kakashi-san will let us do this again."

"I'm sure he will, even a blind man could see that Naruto was having a great time."

 **AN: Play date complete :) Thank you for the encouragement to continue to update, Nerdcat21 and KnightLawn, it is nice to know my random thoughts are interesting to others. As always let me know what you think. Until next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Naruto, only my OC and her family.**

 **Two weeks later**

Harumi was at the limits of her patience this morning. Between Hideaki fussing over her like a mother hen, Maiko complaining about something and Masahiro was currently moping because Harumi told him that she would not be home this afternoon.

"Why do _you_ have to go?"

"As a kunoichi, I follow the directions of the Hokage and the Hokage has determined that I am to go on this mission."

"But.."

"No, Masahiro, this is not up for debate. I am going on a mission and you will have to figure out how to deal with it. Nothing you say or do will prevent me from leaving."

Crossing his arms, "Fine, but I do not like it at all."

Stopping at the road where they meet up with Kakashi and Naruto, Harumi knelt in front of her brother, "You don't have to like it, but you must accept that I have to go on this mission. This mission is not unlike the others I have gone on recently. The biggest difference is that I will be gone for the whole day, instead of a few hours." Gently she pulled her brother into a tight hug, "Everything will be just fine, just like when Hideaki goes on missions, he returns."

"But what if you don't?"

Harumi hugged her brother tighter, "I have faith that I will return, if I think otherwise I might make a mistake which could cause my team to be hurt."

Masahiro nodded, his lower lip quivering and his eyes shining. Harumi rested her cheek on his head and sighed softly. Rubbing his back as he pressed closer to her shoulder, she just stayed there, until Masahiro pulled back. Reaching into her hip pouch, Harumi pulled out a dango stick and handed it to him. Masahiro smiled and began to eat the sweet treat. Before Masahiro could finish his first bite, Naruto came running down the street.

"Masahiro!" Naruto shouted.

"Good morning, Naruto," Harumi said.

"Hm," replied Masahiro.

"Hey, whacha eating?" Naruto asked.

"Nee-chan gave me this dango to eat."

Naruto turned to look at Harumi, who smiled and pulled another dango stick out of her hip pouch. Naruto smiled, "Thanks, Harumi-san."

Kakashi walked up to the small group and frowned at the dango in Naruto's hand, before sweeping upwards to see Harumi dressed like he was, including the green vest and sandals.

"Going somewhere?"

Harumi nodded and pushed the boys to start walking, "I may not be back in time to pick up Masahiro from school. Would you be able to see him to this spot and he can walk home by himself?"

Kakashi nodded, "If you would like me to, I can bring him back to the training grounds where Naruto and I will be after school."

Harumi smiled, "If he wants too, but I fear he will not be good company or focused on training. I think going straight home might be best for him and his friendship with Naruto."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow, "Oh?"

Harumi shrugged, "Masahiro is not taking this mission well, in fact ever since I told him I was leaving, he has been very vocal about his unhappiness."

"Why? This isn't your first mission," Kakashi knew this because he had seen her file, while her mission list was not nearly as long as his was, it wasn't lacking either.

"No, it isn't. However it is the first mission that he will come home to an empty house with Hideaki is still gone on his mission and Maiko off training this afternoon preparing for the chunin exams. He is a little nervous about it. Also I think he is afraid, this is the first time we will all be gone since our parents died. I am sure he is afraid of being alone." Harumi shrugged, trying not to sound like she was too worried about her brother. "I tried to get him to go over to Aunt's house, but he refuses, so while I think he should be around people, he doesn't want to."

"So your solution is to let him worry in an empty house?"

Harumi glared at Kakashi, "No it isn't my solution. But it is what he wants, so I am going to respect that. He needs to learn how to deal with his family on missions. He is learning to be a shinobi and that means going where the Hokage tells you to go. Also Aunt is stopping by shortly after school gets out to ensure that Masahiro is not left alone."

"I will see to it that your brother gets home safe."

"Thank you Hatake-san, I will return the favor." By this time, the group had arrived at the Academy. Masahiro and Naruto both waited near the entrance, waiting for the adults. Kneeling down, Harumi pulled Masahiro into a one-armed hug, and reached out to wrap Naruto in her other arm. "Be good, you two. Listen to your sensei. Masahiro, Hatake-san has said that he will take you home after school, so listen to him. I will be home by bedtime and Maiko will be home before dinner."

Masahiro and Naruto nodded, giving each boy one last squeeze, Harumi stood up and took a step back. Watching them rush into the school, Harumi took a deep breath and turned to Kakashi. "Thank you again for seeing my brother home."

Kakashi nodded, "Safe travels, Shimizu-san."

Harumi smiled, "Call me Harumi, please. It seems only appropriate."

"Only if you call me Kakashi. Safe travels, Harumi."

"Thank you Kakashi," with a swirl of leaves, Harumi was gone, heading over to the meeting spot with her temporary team.

"Shimizu-san?" A hesitant voice called out as Harumi appeared near the Gate.

Harumi turned towards the voice, "Gekkō-san?" Walking towards the tall young man wearing the traditional jonin gear, along with a bandana instead of a forehead protector and the handle of a sword sticking up over his shoulder. From the size, Harumi assumed it was a katana or a tantō. The bandana covered short brown hair with three distinct locks of hair, one on either side of his face that came down to his chin and the third in the center of his forehead and stopped just below his eyes. Harumi had heard of this young man, who had a chronic cough that no one could seem to identify the cause of it, but most of the hospital staff had their theories. Nodding her head, Harumi continued, "Nice to meet you. So are you ready?"

Gekkō nodded and waved a hand towards to gate, "After you."

The two shinobi, with a wave to the two guards stationed at the gate to greet everyone walking through the gates, they took off down the road. Once they were out of sight of the gates, in unspoken agreement, the two took to the trees. They didn't speak while they were running to one of the nearest outposts, just to resupply the outpost with medical supplies and for Harumi to look over everyone there. Just to make sure no one needed more medical attention or needed to be sent home for a psych evaluation. The trip only took a few hours, leaving Harumi plenty of time to perform her analysis.

Normally this would have been a solo mission, but with the increase in attacks on lone shinobi even within the boarders of the Land of Fire, it has become prudent to send everyone out in pairs. Harumi's analysis and inspection didn't take nearly as long as originally though, mainly because half of the shinobi assigned there, were very much in need of medical attention. Most have been affected by some sort of poison, which she was able to clear, but it was still troubling. Really most of this routine mission had been troubling.

On the way back to Konoha, Harumi decided to speak up.

"So Gekkō-san, what do you normally do? I mean when you are not on missions escorting med-nin to and from outposts?"

"I help to train people who are interested in the art of the sword," Gekkō answered.

"That must be rewarding. Do you teach many genin?"

"Not really, must of the time I am teaching chuunin who are looking for a deeper education into kenjutsu. Sometimes I work with ANBU who need to use the tantō that is standard issue."

"I see," Harumi commented. "I guess you can figure out that I work at the hospital. I don't know anyone who uses a tantō or katana, but I have seen it in action often enough to say it looks difficult but also more like a dance."

The shinobi laughed softly, but it ended upruptly in a cough, "I have heard that before," he answered once he caught his breath.

"Not to be pushy, but would you mind if I looked at you? I know you have seen many people at the hospital, but maybe I could see something?" Harumi slowed her run through the trees waiting for him to make a decision.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," he said, dropping to the ground.

Harumi followed and watched as Gekkō sat on a tree root that was exposed.

"It will just be a simple diagnostic, and I'm not saying that I will be able to fix the cough, but it might give me something to work on during the winter downtime," Harumi said as she focused her charka and set her hand on his shoulder.

Harumi frowned in concentration, there was some swelling in his throat and nasal passages, but that could be explained by the constant coughing. She saw the slight scaring on his lungs, but again, that could be from the coughing. There didn't seem to be anything specific that would cause the constant coughing, but it was enough for her to think about.

"Thank you, Gekkō-san. If I have your permission, I will look through your medical file and see what I can do."

"Of course, if you can find something, that would be great. I would love to be able to head out on longer missions," Gekkō replied. "Any help or insight would be appreciated Shimizu-sama."

"Harumi-san please, Shimizu-sama makes me feel old," Harumi replied laughing.

"Of course, feel free to call me Hayate."

Harumi nodded and smiled at Hayate, "Time to get moving, I promised my brother that I would be home before bedtime."

Hayate nodded and the two of them moved back to the trees and continued to run.

Halfway to the village gates, Harumi's and Hayate's stopped and turned quickly to the sounds of fighting. A glance shared between the two of them and they ran quickly to the sound.

Harumi took only a few seconds to register what she was seeing once the two shinobi came to a small clearing on the forest. From the looks of the fight, it was a genin team against another group of enemy shinobi. There was one Leaf shinobi down, surrounded by his teammates and the jonin-sensei was fighting two of the enemy shinobi.

Hayate didn't hesitate before he threw himself at the shinobi trying to sneak up behind the two genin. Harumi dropped down in front of the injured person with a soft thump. The uninjured teens must have gotten whiplash the way their heads whipped from Hayate to Harumi as they landed just seconds apart.

"I'm a med-nin, let me see your teammate," Harumi said as she pushed her forehead protector further up from where is slipped during their almost frantic run to the battle. Harumi knelt next to the injured genin and quickly diagnosed the injury.

The young genin was suffering from multiple cuts and bruises, however the most worrying injury was the crushed spine at his lower back. Harumi focused on moving the crushed bones away from the spinal cord, but without being in a safe environment, she didn't want to do too much. Making sure that he wasn't going to bleed out Harumi's priority was to ensure stabilized enough to be able to transport back to the village.

Slowly, as she stopped focusing on her patient, she could hear the sounds of battle. The sounds only came from a single direction, which meant that the battle was winding down. Harumi started to focus on moving the shards of bone back into place, trying to get the spinal column back in one piece. Harumi couldn't afford to miss a single sliver of bone, or to put a piece of bone in wrong. This was the type of puzzle that really could only be done in surgery, and she shouldn't be doing it now.

Harumi snapped her chakra out of her hand as the thought crossed her mind. She needed to ensure she had enough chakra to heal those who are still injured and to make sure she had enough to get everyone home. An assessing glance showed the other two genin were covered in minor cuts and bruises, nothing life threatening. The two older shinobi were a different story.

Hayate had his katana out and was darting in with a strike while the other jonin would throw kunai or shuriken or throw in an earth jutsu. Harumi knew the rules, so she couldn't leave the injured. However as the three shinobi came closer to the small group, the genin tensed and moved closer to where their fallen teammate was laying on the floor and Harumi kneeling next to him. Harumi slipped her hand into her weapons pouch and pulled out five poisoned senbon. Waiting for an opening, Harumi threw the senbon with precision and was able to pierce the enemy's skin just to the right of his spine and it sunk into the muscle. He left the senbon in and ducked away from Hayate's katana just before it beheaded him.

The poison didn't take long, the first sign was the enemy didn't dodge an easy kunai throw, his movements continued to get more and more sluggish, before he finally just didn't move away as Hayate swung his katana and it cut across his body from shoulder to hip. Harumi glanced at the genin as Hayate plunged his katana into the enemy's heart.

Harumi stood up and pulled her senbon out of the shinobi's back and then moved to the jonin-sensei.

"Hello, shinobi-san, I'm Shimizu Harumi and I'm a medical nin. Are you injured?"

The jonin-sensei glanced at his student on the ground.

"You student is stable, but we need to get him back to the Leaf as soon as possible."

The man nodded.

"Let me check you to ensure you are able to travel back. If you are well enough, you can carry your student," Harumi offered. Jonin were so sensitive about being injured. It wasn't as if they had a safe and secure profession, it was inevitable that they would get hurt and need to see a medic. But no, most felt that an injury was the same as a weakness. A quick diagnosis showed other than the deep gashes on his arms and legs, the sensei was in good shape. Harumi took some time to heal the gashes and even to heal some of the tears in the muscle tissue to ensure he would be able to get to the village easier.

A few minutes later, Harumi nodded and turned to Hayate, who didn't look too bad. It was helpful that he joined the battle later. A few cuts and bruises was the extent of his injuries and she was able to heal those very quickly.

"What happened?" Hayate asked while Harumi went to heal the two genin.

"We were on our way out for a simple messanger mission when we were ambushed by this group of missing-nin. I don't know what is in the message, but they really didn't want it to make it to the village," the jonin-sensei replied.

"We will go with you back to the village where they will assign a more advanced group. This sounds like a mission for chunin or higher," Hayate replied.

The jonin-sensei nodded, "Thank you. How quickly do we need to get back?"

"As quickly as possible. The longer he has the bone shards floating around his spinal column, the higher the risk of permanent damage," Harumi replied, having finished healing the genin.

Hayate nodded and moved over to the genin, "Are you two ready to travel? We will be moving through the trees and moving fast."

The two genin nodded, "Hai, we can keep up."

"Good," Hayate said before turning back to Harumi, "What do we need to do to transport the genin?"

"A board to transport him on would be ideal, but if we can't do that," Harumi replied, looking around the area for something to use, "stiff sticks covered in blankets to reduce his movement while he is on someone's back. We will be in the trees, so it would be best to put him on a board and carry him between two people."

Hayate nodded, "I only have a simple pack, do you have blankets and stuff if needed?"

Harumi nodded, "I have blankets and bandages to tie him down, also I am sure we can find some rope around here if we really need it."

The jonin-sensei interrupted, "We have a full med kit and a full set of camping gear. You could use his bedroll as blankets if you need to."

"Thank you, I think we will," Harumi replied.

"Now," Hayate said, "I need you two to come and help me get a board or something we can use as a stretcher for your teammate." The two genin nodded and followed Hayate as he walked into the forest.

Harumi started to look through the backpack indicated by the jonin-sensei as the injured boy. She pulled out the bedroll and two blankets. She also found a few towels that she rolled up and placed around his head. "I need your help," she told the sensei, "I am going to roll him over and I need you to put his bedroll as far under him as you can get." She tied to towels to his head as she said that, then she crossed the genin's arms across his chest. She then positioned herself so she was kneeling in front of him. "On the count of three, I will roll him towards me and I will need you to not touch him while you put the bedroll down. Try to line up the center of the bedroll with his spine. If you need to roll up the end closest to me, we can roll him over again to get him centered, but we can't pick him up to move him. I would prefer to not even shift him too much," Harumi instructed. Setting on hand just under his shoulder and the other under his hip, Harumi focused and created a line of chakra to connect her hands and to create almost a flat surface between her two hands, to ensure that when she moved, the genin's body would move in a single movement. "It would be easier if I could just make his whole body stiff, but we need to have the rest of his body be able to absorb some of the impact," Harumi muttered to herself.

"Ready?" she asked focusing on the job in front of her.

When the sensei nodded, Harumi counted, "One, two, three."

On three, she focused more chakra and pulled the boy towards her. She watched as the sensei took the bedroll and slid it where the boy was laying. She could see the end closest too her rolled into a tight roll, it hit the boy's shoulder and hip where they met the ground. Harumi watched as the sensei straightened the bedroll, making sure there were no wrinkles or folds. When he nodded, Harumi slowly lowered the boy onto his back. Harumi then unrolled the end of the bedroll and nodded. The boy was as centered as they could make him.

Harumi then took the bandages that were holding the towels to the boy's head and untied them, so when the poles came, they could tie his head to the make shift stretcher.

Harumi checked his vitals and nodded, pulse was steady, breath was even. The boy had passed out, so he was away from pain. If he woke up, Harumi could easily administer some painkillers, but it wouldn't do any good to administer them while the child was asleep.

Ten minutes after they disappeared, Hayate and the two genin returned with two long sticks.

"They are strong and can hold my weight," Hayate answered the sensei's unspoken question.

"Perfect," Harumi replied and took the two sticks and moved them to opposite ends of the bedroll. Taking out a kunai, she made three cuts on each side, one in each corner and one near the center of bedroll and threaded the stick through. A quick tug on the poles and Harumi nodded.

"Hayate and I will start carrying and when one of us gets tired, Sensei you can take over. The person not helping with carrying will take the back, while the genin will take point."

The rest of the group nodded and picked up their packs and with a nod in Hayate's direction, they lifted the boy. Taking to the trees, the group moved out.

Carrying someone on a stretcher while jumping through the trees was difficult, even in the best of circumstances, when you are trying to jump with someone new and keep your patient still, it is boarding on impossible. However Harumi made sure that she kept tabs on her patient, working using chakra wire to help hold him still. Every thirty minutes the people carrying would switch, to ensure that no one got too tired.

It took a few hours, almost twice as long as it would normally would, but they had to travel at a slower speed.

Once the gates were in sight, Harumi sprinted forward, "I'm heading to the hospital to get them ready. I will also tell the guards at the gate." Leaving the group, Harumi jumped down to the road and took off at top speed.

"Injured incoming," Harumi called out as she ran past the guards, who jumped up as she ran past. She then took to the rooftops and ran at top speed to the hospital. She caught the notice of a few people, because she was moving much faster than what we considered polite within the village. However, most caught the direction she was heading and didn't call out to her.

Once she landed on the hospital lawn, Harumi quickly ran to the front desk, "I have incoming spinal injury. Genin had his spine crushed one hand above his hip bone. I need a surgery bay readied, he should be arriving in less than five minutes."

The nurse at the desk nodded and started pressing the corresponding seals on her desk for an emergency, "Will you be attending, Harumi-sama?"

"I will," Harumi affirmed before running up to the surgery floor. Once she arrived, the floor was alive with activity. "What bay is ready?" she asked a passing nurse.

"We are setting up the third room for you, Harumi-sama," the nurse answered.

"Good, I'm going to get cleaned up and into sterile clothing, let me know when he arrives," Harumi said, before moving to the shower area where she could get prepared for surgery. Her shower was very fast and she quickly pulled out a clean uniform and set it to the side before putting on the white uniform of the medical-nin, with a large red kanji on the back. Harumi pulled her hair into a tight bun and covered with the hat. Nurses and other doctors came in, all getting ready.

"What do we have, Harumi?" One of the surgery nurses asked.

Harumi gave those the room what she knew, including what she had done in the field. The room discussed the different techniques they could use, but the main question that none of them asked was, if this boy would continue to be a shinobi.

A nurse opened the door, "Your patient has arrived, we are prepping him now. The teammates are being seen to as well. From preliminary examination, they are suffering from mild chakra exhaustion and some pulled muscles. The parents will be notified as soon as you give the word, Harumi."

Harumi nodded, pulling on her glove, "Thank you," a glance at the room she gave the team assembled a smile, "Let's go and get this boy walking again."

 **AN: Is this going the way you were hoping? I hope you don't mind all the OC's but it is shocking how few older shinobi are actually named. Please R &R, let me know what you liked, didn't like, what you hope will happen. **

**Thank you rainingsun2811 for your lovely encouragement.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Standard "I don't own Naruto or the characters, just Harumi and her family" message.**

 **Three days later**

Kakashi knew that Harumi was back, Masahiro said as much, even said that his sister was spending most of her time at the hospital. However, Kakashi hadn't seen the kunoichi since she left for her mission. Maiko had been escorting her brother to and from school. Not sure why it bothered him, but it did. It also bothered him that he was looking forward to seeing her again, making sure for himself that she was fine. Kakashi told himself that it was because she represented female stability in Naruto's life, but there was only so far that reasoning could take him.

Unconsciously, Kakashi quickened his steps as they neared the spot where Masahiro would meet them. In a move that was very unlike him, Kakashi kept his book safely in his hip pouch, preferring to keep an eye on his surrounding this morning, and if he happen to see a certain dark haired kunoichi, well then, no harm done.

"Masahiro! Harumi-san!" Naruto's excited shout came right before he shot down the street.

Kakashi looked over at Harumi and frowned, she was wearing a simple black kimono, which told him that she was not going to the hospital or on a mission. As he drew closer, he saw that Harumi's face was pale and she had pronounced shadows under her eyes.

Hearing Naruto call her name, Harumi smiled and turned to the young blond boy as he came barreling up to her. Bracing herself as he threw his arms around her waist.

"I missed you! Masahiro said you came back, but you were busy at the hospital, so you couldn't come and see us."

Harumi leaned over and returned his hug, since Naruto was not letting go of her waist, "I missed you too Naruto. Masahiro was right, I was very busy at the hospital, but I have a few days off now, so if it is alright with Kakashi-san, then you can come over after school and work on homework together and train."

Naruto turned and gave Kakashi a pleading look, "Please, Kakashi-san! I promise that I will be good!"

"We will see Naruto," seeing Naruto open his mouth, Kakashi put one hand up, "I have to see what I am doing this afternoon before you can go over."

"Yes Kakashi-san," Naruto reluctantly replied.

"Time to get moving boys, you can't be late. I am told that you have a test today," Harumi said while moving Naruto's arms to a better position around to waist to actually walk. Masahiro quickly put his arm around her waist on her other side and together the two boys walked Harumi to the front of the Academy. Giving the boys one last shoulder squeeze, Harumi watched them scamper into the building. Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at Kakashi.

Kakashi watched as the smiling mask Harumi put on as soon as Naruto gave her a hug, slid off, leaving her face drawn and pale. "Hard mission?" He asked.

"The mission itself was easy, it was what happened while we were returning. I can't say too much, other than we ran into a genin team on our way back from our mission. There was an ambush and one of the genin was hurt. I have been spending most of my time at the hospital, helping to heal the genin."

"Will the genin recover?"

"At this point, we hope so," came the tired replay.

"Will you be going to the hospital today?"

"Not today, I have been ordered to stay at home today, so I am going to catch up on my shopping and chores around the house. Maybe go read next to the river."

Kakashi hesitated, "I need to go to the grocery store, would you mind if we went together?"

Harumi's eyes widened, "I would love to go shopping with you Kakashi."

Together they walked slowly down the busy street. People lifted their hands and waved, called out "Good morning" and "Hello"s to Harumi and she smiled, nodded and waved at each of them, however Kakashi could tell that she was distracted. It was either because he was there, or because those people heard about the mission but everyone was giving Harumi some space. Shinobi were some of the best gossips in the world.

Harumi walked into a store and picked up a basket. She walked through the store, putting different things into the basket, dried noodles, dried mushrooms, some milk, a few blocks of tofu and other things Kakashi couldn't name. A bump on her arm had her looking at the man behind her, she was shocked to see his nose in a book and his other arm outstretched.

"Give me," he mumbled as he turned the page.

"Are you.." she started.

"Just give me the basket," Kakashi growled shaking the arm held in front of him.

"Okay," Harumi gave him the basket and continued to put items in. She needed more rice flour, more red beans and rice. Walking up and down the aisles putting an item or two into the basket, they reached the end of the store. Going quickly to checkout, Kakashi dutifully followed and picked up the two bags holding her items.

Harumi continued through the market area, stopping at the fruit vendors and grabbing a couple different fruits, then she stopped at the fish monger and she picked up some salmon, mackerel and saury. The final stop was to the butcher and she picked up some beef and chicken.

Kakashi watched as everyone greeted her by name, asked about her family. Harumi was friendly to each and every person she talked too, even gave free medical advice when she was asked. Kakashi also noticed that when someone talked to her, she devoted her whole attention to the person. She would raise a hand to acknowledge when someone called out to her, but she wouldn't turn her attention away from the person she was talking too, and no one seemed upset by it. However, Kakashi was getting increasingly concerned by the utter lack of other people acknowledging that there was something wrong with Harumi. No one asked what was wrong, or if they could help. Not a single person. Kakashi was used to that treatment from everyone, but he also worked hard to ensure he wouldn't have to answer any personal questions by shutting every request down with a blunt and cutting answer.

How could they not see that she was not doing well? Harumi was not very good at concealing it from him earlier. Then Kakashi noticed something in the reflection of the window as they were passing by a shop, Harumi had a low level henge on her face, to hide the dark shadows under her eyes and the stress lines around her mouth. Kakashi walked faster to move up next to her and whispered, "Why are you hiding your being tired?"

Harumi glanced at Kakashi and gave him a weary smile, "I don't want people to worry, and I also don't want to have to answer questions about why I'm tired and not at the hospital right now."

Kakashi made a noise and stayed next to Harumi.

"Did you get any of your shopping done?" Harumi asked as they turned onto the road where she lived.

"I did, although I'm not surprised you didn't see it. I have most of it sealed into a scroll."

Seeing Harumi's eyebrow raise in disbelief, Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "I threw the things I needed from the grocery store into your basket and stuck the bag into my storage scroll."

Harumi gapped at him, "You did that all without me seeing it?"

"You were talking to the store clerk about her baby with the sniffles," he clarified.

"Kakashi-san?" Harumi asked as the two of them passed the street to her house, "Where are we going?"

Kakashi nodded his head in the direction they were heading, "After a hard mission I always go and tell my sensei about it. It is something they would tell us during the war. It helps to talk about the mission and my sensei isn't going to tell anyone if it is classified."

Harumi nodded as she looked at where they were. A small grassy clearing greeted them through the trees. In the very center was a shiny stone. Harumi knew if she walked closer she would see the names of friends and family, names of those who are part of the villages past and history. Those who dies so the village might be safe.

"You can go first," Kakashi gestured to the stone, "I promise not to listen."

Harumi nodded and walked forward. Falling onto her knees she bowed forward, when she straightened, her eyes found her Father's name. "Hello otosan, it has been a little while since I last visited, I have been a little busy. Is okasan with you? I hope you both are happy. I could really use some of your advice. A patient of mine might not walk again. How do I tell him that? He is the same age as Maiko. His whole career could be finished. Oh otosan, okasan, what should I do? The hospital is going to wait and see how things are after the boy heals some more. I know okasan. Time can be the best healer, and I try to remember that, but it is hard." Harumi stayed silent for a little while, letting the quiet fill her soul. When she finally felt something like peace, she stood up and walked back over to Kakashi, "thank you, Kakashi-san, I didn't know that I needed that. If you wanted to talk to your sensei I will wait here and promise not to listen."

"Thanks, but Sensei and I already talked this morning."

"Ah," they walked up to her house and Harumi took the bags from Kakashi, "Thank you for coming with me shopping, it was nice to not be by myself for that."

Harumi watched as Kakashi's cheek turned a darker shade than it normally was. The normally sure of himself Kakashi was embarrassed about something.

"What?" she asked hesitantly.

"Well when my sensei's wife wouldn't feel good, we would always take her to eat ramen, and my teammate wasn't feeling well she would ask for ice cream. Since I wasn't sure if you wanted to eat ramen, there is a small tub of ice cream in your bags for you. I hope you start to feel better soon," having dropped that particular bombshell on her, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Harumi walked into her house with a small smile on her face. She unpacked and put away her groceries, where tucked into the bottom of one of the bags was a small tub of vanilla ice cream with small chunks of chocolate mixed in. Leaving the ice cream on the counter she quickly put some clothes in the laundry, ignoring the scent of blood on her uniform, folding the load of clothes she put in the dryer before taking her brother to the Academy and setting them into the basket to take upstairs. Once that was complete, Harumi walked back into the kitchen, grabbed a spoon and the ice cream. Sitting on the front porch, Harumi took her first bite and groaned in appreciation as the sweetness hit her senses and the cool treat melted on her tongue.

"Thank you, Kakashi-san," she whispered to the empty space he occupied thirty minutes before.

Taking her time and eating half of the carton, Harumi enjoyed the quiet and the peace of the morning. Letting the peace settle into her body and push the fatigue and stress of the past few nights away.

Morning turned to afternoon and it was time to pick up Masahiro from the Academy. Harumi grabbed a small bento full of snacks and a book for her to read and went to pick up her brother. Kakashi met her at the front yard area of the Academy.

"What are you plans for this afternoon?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm going to take Masahiro to the river and let him play in the water for a little while and I'm going to read in the afternoon sunshine."

"Can Naruto come with?"

"Of course."

The two boys ran out of the Academy once the doors flew open.

Before they could say anything, Kakashi said, "Naruto, can you stay with Harumi-san this afternoon for a little while. I have a few things I need to get done."

"Of course, Kakashi-san," Naruto said while nodding his head enthusiastically.

"Listen to Harumi-san and don't get her upset, she just wants to relax and enjoy her afternoon," Kakashi warned.

"Yes, Kakashi-san," Naruto and Masahiro chorused.

Harumi smiled, "I was thinking we could go to the small clearing near where the Nara Forest meets with the river."

Masahiro grinned, "That sounds great nee-chan, maybe the deer will come to see us!"

"Maybe, Masa-kun," turning to Kakashi, "Would you like to pick Naruto up at my house around dinner time?"

When Kakashi nodded, Harumi took the two young boys with her to the clearing and everyone enjoyed the day in the sun. It was a nice change from staying in the hospital for the past few days and doing three surgeries on the injured genin. After playing in the sun for a while, the boys took to skipping rocks, while Harumi basked in the sun and watched the clouds roll by.

Afternoon rolled into evening, and Harumi took the boys back to her house, handed Naruto off to Kakashi and set the table. Maiko was going to bring home take out for dinner and was due any minute. Harumi took the time to put her book away, change laundry and to answer any questions Masahiro had about his homework. When everyone was home, the Shimizu family ate dinner and set about their evening routine.

Once everyone was in bed, Harumi made herself a hot cup of tea and went to sit on the porch at the front of her house.

Sitting on the bench right outside the front door, a hot cup of tea in hand, Harumi tried to relax enough to sleep. Hopefully without the nightmares. Taking a deep breath of the night air, filled with the fragrance of flowers, and a hint of bar-b-que. Harumi smiled at that scent, someone from the Akamichi clan must be walking near by. Taking a sip of her tea, she closed her eyes and let the quiet seep into her mind.

 **AN: A shorter update, but one that was very difficult to write, after all, how does one make Kakashi go from unfeeling to actually wanting to help someone who is sad? I hope I did a good job. Let me know what you think. I will try to keep an update every 2 weeks schedule going, fingers crossed it works :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. The only characters I claim are Harumi and her family.**

 **One week later**

"Kakashi, Naruto-kun, come on in. Masahiro is in the back practicing with our siblings," Harumi walked back towards the kitchen. "Kakashi, would you like some tea?" Setting the tea kettle on the stove, she began to put some tea into the tea pot as Naruto, carrying his shoes ran through the kitchen, stopping long enough to put them back on before running out into the yard. "Would you and Naruto like to stay for dinner?"

"If it is not any trouble."

"Not at all, according to Hide-kun I always make too much anyway," walking over to the refrigerator, Harumi started to pull out what she needed for the soup and steamed vegetables, the last part of dinner that she needed to make. The rice was cooking, the fish was on the counter, ready to be broiled. Walking over to the back door, she stuck her head out, ducking to quickly avoid the mud that was accidently thrown in her direction. "Dinner will be in thirty minutes, which means you have twenty five minutes to train before you need to have this area and yourself cleaned up and ready to eat."

A chorus of "Yes Nee-chan" accompanied her announcement, only to be interrupted with "Kaka-niisan? We are staying for dinner?"

Kakashi walked over to the door and replied, "Yes, Naruto, we are."

"Yeah!" came the excited reply.

Closing the door, Harumi walked over to the counter, picked up a knife and the cutting board and began to chop vegetables and waited for Kakashi to speak.

Kakashi ran his hand through his hair, ever since that day when Harumi accompanied him to the Memorial Stone, he has not felt at easy with her, and yet he felt comfort and an easy he hadn't felt in a long time, not since Sensei was alive. Shaking that thought away before it could take root, Kakashi slouched further into his chair, watching Harumi finish making dinner, pausing only to take the tea kettle off the stove and pour the water into the tea pot.

"I need to go away for a while, two weeks at most and I was wondering if you would mind if Naruto stayed with you. I would ask Hokage, but I am not sure Naruto would like it very much."

Harumi paused in chopping the vegetables, taking a minute to gather her thoughts by picking up the tea pot and a tea cup over to Kakashi and placed them on the table in front of him. "Of course Naruto can stay with me, Masa-kun has room in his room for a cot to be set up. Is there anything specific I need to know?"

Kakashi nodded, "I can't tell you much, Lord Hokage will have to tell you more. We can go to his office after we drop the boys off at the Academy tomorrow. But I can tell you that there will be increased security on your house."

Harumi nodded and said slowly, drawing out the word, "Alright." Trying to figure out what Lord Hokage would have to tell her about Naruto.

Working quickly, she quickly put a pot on the stove and started to make a soup, once everything was in the pot, she put the fish into the oven along with the other vegetables she chopped. Washing her hands, she looked out the window into the back garden. "The kids are planning something," she mused.

"What makes you think that?" Kakashi asked, while walking next to her.

"I told them, they had twenty five minutes to train before they had to clean up, and it has only been twenty minutes and the garden is already clean," Harumi pointed to the targets that were folded into a corner, the basket of rocks, blunted kunai and shuriken tucked next to the targets and finally the benches and flower pots that were put back into their original positions. "The question is, who is the target?"

Kakashi turned his one uncovered eye towards her, "I am going to say you, since you would be the one to call them in."

Harumi smiled and nodded, "I agree with your assessment. So, the question is, what are we going to do about it?"

"We?"

Harumi shrugged, "Well if you don't want to play along with them, I can. It is just easier with two of us."

"What would you have me do?"

"Weelllll," Harumi stretched the word out while looking around the garden, "I could use one of the windows to get onto the roof and drop down behind them, I will have to be careful because depending on who is in charge of this operation they will have someone posted to watch the roof and doors. All I would need is for you to open the back door to be a distraction. Or if you wanted a bigger part, we could both go out there and surprise them."

"I like your first idea, I am unfamiliar with how these types of things work and I would hate to accidently hurt someone."

"Fair enough," Harumi smiled, "Give me two minutes before opening the back door. Just remember to duck and dodge, Naruto and Masahiro always try out their aim when the door is open." Having said that, she slipped away, Kakashi could feel the flare of chakra signaling Harumi was doing something.

Mentally counting down the seconds Harumi asked for, Kakashi wondered what the point of this training was. It was different from the pranks pulled while he was in ANBU, even the ones that Naruto pulled. However, the way Harumi was acting, this was not something serious, and yet she didn't act like this was a game or prank either. Once the time was up, he slowly opened the door, when nothing happened, he stuck his head out and quickly moved out of the way as balloons flew at his chest. Walking fully into the porch to give himself more room to move, and to observe what the kids had planned, along with how Harumi was going to combat those plans.

From her hiding spot in the shadow of a nearby building, Harumi watched Kakashi dodge the water balloons thrown at him. Watching the garden for any movement to tell her where the kids were hidden, Harumi missed when Kakashi walked onto the porch. But his action caused a small hand to appear from behind a plant.. wait a minute, that plant should not be in the back garden. Harumi smiled, two down, two to go. Looking around again Harumi smiled as another set of balloons were thrown from just on the other side of the garden, this time from seemingly out of nowhere. Smiling, Harumi quickly threw four shuriken at the two different target areas. Two shuriken flew at the plant and the hand, while the other two flew at the balloon hand from nowhere.

The shuriken flew true, the intended targets smiling as they flew straight past, only to gasp as the chakra wire connecting the two sets of shuriken hit a solid target, causing the shuriken to change direction, only to have the wire continue to wrap around the objects.

Harumi jumped down into the garden, with a laugh she walked up to the complaining objects, the plant turned into Maiko and Masahiro, while the other was Hideaki and Naruto. Naruto and Masahiro were very vocal about being tied up, while Hideaki and Maiko were laughing, holding still while Harumi came over and cut the wire and gathered up the shuriken. "Enough boys, you had your fun, now go wash up, dinner is almost ready," Harumi admonished.

"But Nee-chan, how did you know?" Masahiro asked.

"A kunoichi always notices her surroundings and I noticed that you had cleaned up the garden earlier than you should have, also that after the garden was cleaned up, you didn't come in."

"How did you know where we were?" Naruto asked.

"Observation, Naruto-kun. I watched and waited, besides I am a jōnin kunoichi, if I can't detect henge and chameleon techniques of my chūnin and genin siblings, then I am not very good," Harumi laughed as she slowly moved to the door. Only instinct long born by being on an active team had her pushing chakra into her feet as she jumped out of the way of one last water balloon thrown at her back. Glancing back to see the water balloon sail through the open door and hit the table, breaking and water flew everywhere. For one second, Harumi was frozen as she watched the water drip onto the floor before wheeling around to see who threw the balloon.

All eyes turned towards the one boy with his arm still raised from his throw, Harumi dispassionately noted that he did not follow through with his throw. Two boys and a girl stood there with mouths opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"Naruto, you had better start running," Harumi fumed, "because I am going to kill you!" Naruto, understanding the real threat in her voice, took off into the house with Harumi two steps behind him. Before she could take more than 2 steps though, she heard more than felt herself be propelled into the wall, a kunai at her throat and a muscular arm across her ribs, shoving her into the wall. Harumi held herself very still while looking into the face of one very pissed off Kakashi. The anger lasted long enough for her to hit the wall with a crack, then all emotion was gone, leaving only cold calculation.

"Kakashi?" Harumi asked, keeping her voice low.

Her whisper must have broken the shocked silence that came over her family, because suddenly Hideaki and Maiko were moving to stand on either side of Kakashi while Masahiro and Naruto started to cry.

Naruto being the loudest walked as close to Kakashi as the younger shinobi would let him, "Kakashi-nii? What are you doing? Why are you hurting Harumi-chan?"

"Kakashi-san," Harumi began, but her words were cut off by the kunai pressing further into her throat, Harumi could feel the warm wetness of blood from the cut.

Naruto and Masahiro started to cry when they saw the blood. Maiko and Hideaki moved forward and the kunai pressed further into her throat, the cut getting wider.

"No," Harumi whispered, her siblings freezing when they hear her voice. Harumi's mind was quickly replaying the event right before Kakashi attacked her, understanding hit her hard, "Kakashi, I wasn't going to hurt Naru-kun," Harumi deliberately used the nickname Masahiro gave to Naruto.

Kakashi blinked slowly.

Naruto tugged on Kakashi's pants, taking advantage of Hideaki's focus on Kakashi. "Harumi-san wasn't going to hurt me, Kaka-nii-san. She just says stuff like that and then she tickles you once she captures you."

Kakashi blinked again, his eye looking down to where Naruto was looking up at him with tears running down his cheeks.

"So you need to let Harumi-san go, Kaka-nii-san so we can have dinner," Naruto continued.

"Why did you threaten Naruto's life?" Kakashi growled.

The kunai shifted just enough that Harumi could speak without cutting herself more, "It was just a phrase that I have used with all of my siblings. But it was never a threat, I would never hurt Naruto on purpose," Harumi spoke in a low soothing tone.

Kakashi took the kunai away from her neck and his arm away from her chest. "Why did you say you were going to kill Naruto?"

"A saying, that is all. It is something that I have said to all of my siblings, my cousins around my age and even my teammates. Although," Harumi continued thoughtfully, "with my teammates, I tend to just threaten deaths by horrible poisons. It is much easier than a slap on the head and much more effective for me. I usually do that when my siblings or teammates annoy me to the point where I have lost all patience."

Kakashi finally took a step back, his mind quickly thinking of all the times he had observed something similar in other teams, even Kushina-san had been quick to yell at Minato when she was upset sometimes she would hit him over the head.

As soon as Kakashi stepped back, Harumi took a deep breath, only to feel intense pain and had to bite the inside of her cheek so she didn't give any hint of pain. Kakashi was still facing her, as she watched confusion flood his face. Deciding to deal with this now, she ordered, "Maiko, please get the food out of the oven, it should be done by now, I already have a place for it on the table. Hideaki, clean up the mess on the table and then set it again. Naruto, Masahiro, go upstairs and get washed up. I just need to put a small bandage on my neck and then we will eat."

Turning to walk into the house, she had to brace herself as a young boy threw himself at her and buried his head into her injured ribs and cried, "You are hurt! Don't die, Harumi-san! Kakashi didn't mean to hurt you!"

Slowly bending her knees, Harumi knelt in front of Naruto, "It is okay, Naruto-kun. This is just a small wound and I get worse when I train with Shikaku-oji. I am fine, this was all just a misunderstanding. Kakashi-san is charged with keeping you safe, just like I am to keep Masahiro, Hideaki and Maiko safe." Flinching slightly when Naruto wrapped his arms tighter around her ribs and squeezed, Harumi bit the inside of her cheek hard enough that the familiar metallic taste flooded her mout. "Now you and Masahiro go and get cleaned up, we will have dinner in just a little bit."

Watching Naruto and Masahiro run up the stairs, no longer crying, but not nearly as happy as before, Harumi took a shallow breath and pushed up into standing once again. Hideaki and Maiko gave her one last look before going to do what she said. Slowly walking into the small room off the kitchen, Harumi walked to the cabinet there, opened it and pulled out a large mirror and hung it up. Then she focused chakra to her hand and slowly passed the hand over the wound on her neck.

Hearing the door close behind her, Harumi was not surprised at all to see Kakashi standing behind her. He looked down at his feet and whispered, "I'm sorry, I overreacted. I can't tell you why, because that is for Lord Hokage, but I am still sorry for the way I acted. You have never shown Naruto anything but kindness."

Harumi finished healing her neck and moved her hand to her chest, right above her fractured ribs. "I am not mad, Kakashi-san. I have been a medic for a long time, I know the look of someone coming off a long mission. They don't fully realize what they are doing they just react." Focusing more chakra to heal her ribs, Harumi sighed as she felt the bones knit together.

Kakashi shrugged, "You do not need to make excuses for me."

"No excuses, just understanding."

"Why are you so understanding?"

"Like I said, I have been treating shinobi for a long time, I know what mission fatigue looks like, when you have been on one mission too many without enough of a break between. As shinobi, we are conditioned to react using deadly force if necessary, without enough time between missions, we never get to relax out of mission ready status. Therefore, your actions are justifiable."

"You make it sound easy."

"It isn't, but like I said, I have been a medic for a long time. While not pretty, it is easy to understand."

"I understand if you do not want to share your dinner with me."

"Nonsense, you and Naruto will stay for dinner and we will put this entire incident behind us. I will talk to my siblings, nothing will change," Harumi promised, to herself more than to Kakashi.

A knock on the door interrupted the rest of her thoughts, "Nee-san? Maiko says that dinner is ready."

"Thank you, otouto, we will be there in just a moment," quickly moving to the small sink in the room, Harumi took a towel, ran it under the water and quickly washed the blood from her neck. Checking the mirror to ensure that she didn't have any blood on her clothes, she nodded to herself, looked over at Kakashi, who was looking at her like one does when looking at a wild animal. "Ready for dinner Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi nodded and turned to open the door, only to be stopped by the young shinobi standing in front of the door. Kakashi stared at the young man as he scowled at him but watched as the scowl faded slightly the longer they stared at each other.

Harumi looked around Kakashi to see what the problem was and sighed, "Kakashi would you please go in and sit, it seems I need to have a conversation with my siblings quickly," raising her voice she continued, "Maiko, Hideaki, I would like to speak to you in the front room please."

Waiting a second to make sure that Hideaki and Maiko started moving towards the room Harumi requested them in, she gently prodded Kakashi to the table. Quickly moving the rice and soup onto the table, "When the boys get here, you can start with this, I will only be a moment." Making sure that there were bowls, spoons and chopsticks on the table, Harumi quietly moved into the front room, where she closed the door with a distinct thud. "Now, you want to tell me what the problem is?"

"He hurt you, Nee-chan!" came to fierce whisper.

"Am I acting offended, Hideaki?"

"No, but you have always.."

"Not another word, I am the injured party, therefore I am the one who take offence or not. Kakashi-san is a guest in our house and I will not see otosan and okosan dishonored by your actions."

"As a guest in our house, he hurt you!" Maiko hissed.

"You are seeing only a fraction of what is really going on here. It is not my place to tell you all the things that you are missing, but it will be enough for me to tell you that you are missing information. Kakashi-san has already apologized for his behavior. Now I am not going to tell you again, but this matter has been resolved. I will not have you treat our guest any differently than before. Do I make myself clear?"

Maiko nodded quickly while Hideaki reluctantly nodded.

"Then I will expect that the matter is over. Let us go and eat dinner and enjoy our guests."

Later that night, Harumi was sitting on the porch, drinking tea as is her habit, going over the events of the day. Now was the time to decompress, to deal with the emotions she locked away while dealing with the crisis. A habit she learned when she was a genin, learning how to be a medic. It was a habit she perfected when she started working full time at the hospital. It was easier to deal with the conflicting emotions of treating injured children, injured in the name of Konoha, children who might not recover, adults who would be told they now are unfit for duty, telling someone that their loved one will not be returning to them. Granted those days were not as frequent as they are during war times, but it still happened.

The fact that Kakashi was suffering from mission fatigue told her more than Kakashi probably wanted her to know. Why was he suffering? What had he been doing? Was Naruto affected by the constant missions? As far as she could tell, this upcoming mission was the first long term mission Kakashi has been on since she met Naruto, nothing to give her the impression that Kakashi needed a break. Circling back to Naruto, Harumi had to admit that Kakashi only reacted the way he did because of what she said to Naruto. He seemed fine during the impromptu training, but, she corrected herself, he did say that it would be better for him to just act as decoy. Does that mean he understood that he needed a break?

So many questions and, frankly, not enough information to make good answers. At least her siblings were able to behave as if nothing happened. Hideaki kept a close eye on Kakashi the rest of the evening, and she was sure that Kakashi knew that as well, but since neither of them did anything about it, she decided to ignore it until it became a problem. Something else she learned from her jōnin sensei, sometimes boys and men must work things out on their own, or as Maiko put it, "Boys are weird."

Moving her thoughts to the upcoming meeting with the Hokage, why would the Hokage need to speak to her about having a little boy stay at her house? Well aside from the fact that most people knew that Naruto contained the Nine-Tailed Fox. Was that the reason?

Harumi's thoughts were interrupted by a silent figure dropping off the roof to stand in front of her. "Kakashi-san," she greeted.

"Harumi-san, how are you doing?"

Harumi took a sip of tea before answering, "I am doing okay. I am thinking too much about to day, so I am trying to process my thoughts and emotions so that I can sleep," she shrugged.

"I am sorry if I am the reason for your turmoil," Kakashi said quietly.

"I already forgave you in your part. I will not deny that your actions are part of the reason I am here, but I hate to inform you, but my thoughts and feelings are not your responsibility."

Kakashi made a "I don't agree with you" noise.

Harumi laughed, "I am not a child, Kakashi-san. Nor am I male, I can dwell on my thoughts and feelings at a time I deem appropriate. Besides what goes on in my head is not your responsibility. No matter what you, or my brother think, I am not a delicate flower that requires the men around me to protect me from harm or any hurts."

Kakashi held his hands up in surrender, "I would never presume to think that, but you must admit it is a common practice among the shinobi to try and protect their medics."

Harumi shrugged.

"What brings you to my door at this time of night, Kakashi-san?"

"I…" how did Kakashi explain something that he didn't understand. How did he explain to this kunoichi that he just wanted to make sure that she was fine with no lasting effects from tonight. To make sure that she was still willing to talk to him and treat him with the same friendly attitude she had before. "I just wanted to make sure you were fine. That you were not still hurt," he finished lamely.

Harumi smiled and pat the bench, "Come and sit for a minute Kakashi. I am fine, I am fully healed."

"It wasn't a comment against your healing skills, I just know some medics that will heal themselves the minimum amount so as to not deplete their chakra that might be needed by their teammates." Kakashi sat down on the far side of the bench.

"I am not going to touch that comment, so instead I will ask if you would like a cup of tea?"

"I would love a cup."

Harumi smiled, stood up and walked into the house to make Kakashi a cup of tea and to refresh her now cold tea.

As soon as Harumi disappeared into the house, Kakashi stood up and growled, "You can come out now, your sister is inside."

Hideaki dropped off the roof, like Kakashi had, and frowned at him, "Why are you here Hatake-san?"

Kakashi shrugged, "You heard what I told you sister, my answer is not going to change."

"My sister may forgive you and not ask you questions, but I am not my sister and I want to know why you attacked her."

Kakashi tried not to let his smile show, as Hideaki glared at him, it reminded him of when his puppies tried to be intimidating and growl, but ultimately it was cute. "Since your sister was the injured party, shouldn't she be the one to ask these questions?"

Hideaki shrugged, "As the oldest male in the house, it is my right to protect my family from any threats."

Kakashi could respect that, even if the poor chūnin couldn't follow through with his implied threat. Not that Kakashi was belittling the young man's skills, Kakashi was just that confident in his own. Instead of ignoring the young man, though, Kakashi decided that having him on alert would be helpful, therefore Kakashi gave him part of the truth. "I am not a threat to your family, there is, however, a threat to Naruto that I take very seriously. If everything goes well, then Naruto may be spending more time here and I will need you to be vigilant for that threat."

"A threat to Naruto?" Hideaki sounded puzzled, "He is just a child."

"I won't insult your intelligence by lying to you and telling you I don't know why or how, but I will say there is."

Hideaki was old enough to know that this wasn't the whole truth, but he also understood that there were things he couldn't be told if this were a mission, which from the way Kakashi was speaking, it was. Snapping a quick salute, "Understood," and then jumped up to the roof.

Kakashi was wondering if Hideaki would stay out here to confront his sister, but it seems that the answer was no.

Harumi walked out to the porch with the two cups of tea, handing one to Kakashi, she resumed her seat before raising her voice just a little, "Hideaki, I have early morning training before breakfast, so I need you to make sure Maiko gets up in time for her training."

A soft, "Yes Nee-chan" came before Kakashi heard the soft click of a window closing.

Turning to frown at Kakashi she asked, "Did you have a good talk with my brother?"

Kakashi ran his hand through his hair, "He is concerned, a concerned shinobi always looks for ways to limit that concern."

"And what does that mean?"

"We had a good talk?" It was supposed to come out as a statement, unfortunately it was phrased like a question. Oh well, Kakashi shrugged, not much he could do about it now, taking a sip of his tea, he tried again, "We understand each other, Harumi-san, that is probably the best you can hope for right now."

Kakashi watched as the skin between Harumi's eyebrows wrinkled, her mouth, that Kakashi knew was frowning, hidden by her tea cup. Her eyes were hidden in the shadows, but Kakashi knew they would be a darker shade of blue to match her frown. Changing the subject, or at least moving the conversation along Kakashi continued, "Did you want me to bring some of Naruto's things with me before we go to see Lord Hokage? Or is it more appropriate to have him pick out the things he needs?"

Seeing this as the distraction it was, Harumi shrugged, "How attached is Naruto to his stuff? Hideaki does not like having people touch his stuff, so I wouldn't touch them. However, Masahiro does not care who is in his room. If Masahiro is going over to a friend's house I make sure to pack him some clothes else, he would wear the same clothes for the entire time I am gone."

"I don't know," Kakashi responded.

"Then I would ask him. When do you leave?"

"I will leave shortly after we talk to the Hokage."

"Then in the morning, I would pack some clothes for Naruto, if he has a favorite toy that he needs to go to sleep with, pack that also. You can give it to me at any point in the morning, or you can drop it off before you leave. Either way is fine."

"You are being remarkably calm about this."

"This is not the first time I have had one of my siblings' friends over because of a mission. For that matter, my friends would come over before my parents died. This is the way of the shinobi," Harumi shrugged. "For that matter, I have sent my siblings out to stay with friends and family while I have been gone on missions. Not that Masahiro likes to remember, and thankfully that hasn't happened in a long time." Looking around, "Where is Naruto?"

Kakashi shrugged again, Harumi momentarily wondered if Kakashi did something other than shrug, "I left him at home, a…" Kakashi paused for a moment, "a friend is watching over him so that I can come and talk to you."

Harumi nodded, "Of course. Is there anything else you needed Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi shook his head.

Harumi smiled and stood up, "Then I will wish you another good night, I do have an early morning and a meeting with the Hokage, so I will need to be fully rested. Please, finish your tea and enjoy the night before you head back home. Suddenly becoming the guardian of a small child is always overwhelming, so take some time to enjoy the peace and quiet." With a small bow, Harumi walked over to the door and slipped inside. Not sure if her advice would be taken or not but knowing that she needed sleep.

 **AN: Poor Kakashi, feeling guilty and not knowing what to do with that.**

 **Thank you for your lovely review His Rose bud 125. I agree that Kakashi isn't unfeeling. In my head, it is more that he has made it a habit to not deal with any emotions, "Fake it until you make it" type of deal. My struggle is how to get Kakashi out of that habit.**

 **So what do you all think? Life is about to get interesting in Harumi's house. Poor Kakashi, really has no idea having a Naruto living with him would cause so much turmoil. Let me know what you think. Also do you have an OC that you would like Harumi to encounter? I am starting to run out of ideas for new people.**


	10. Chapter 10

****Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. The only characters I claim are Harumi and her family.****

 **The Next Morning**

Walking Masahiro to school the next day was routine by this point, which was a good thing because Harumi was still hurt from her training this morning. Shikaku-oji got in a lucky shot and the ribs that she healed last night were back to being injured. Not fractured or broke, but it still hurt. Sparing with her Oji and his team was always fun, they always kept her on her toes. Sadly they didn't get a chance to spar as often as she wished, one or two were always on missions. However it was better than the once a month she was able to do when it came to her own team. Sadly they were all busy with their own stuff now, her with the hospital, Katsu was busy with ANBU and Tamotsu was busy at the academy. With a mental note to invite her teammates over for tea or dinner one day soon, Harumi nodded absently to people as they passed. Masahiro was already firmly in a conversation with Naruto.

The boys were in their usual position on either side of her, with Kakashi taking up the rear guard. Although he was reading a book, Harumi had since figured out that the inattention was all an act and Kakashi was ready to move in a moment's notice. Shaking her head, she finally focused on the conversation happening around her.

"We should do something fun while you stay with us," Masahiro whispered.

"Oh? Do you have a plan?" Naruto asked.

"Well not a plan, but an idea," came the reply.

"What is it?"

Glancing up and seeing that they were the focus of Harumi's gaze, Masahiro gave a big innocent smile, "Oh you know, just a silly idea. We can talk later."

Harumi laughed, "Because that wasn't suspicious at all."

Both boys shrugged and smiled. Thankfully for Harumi, they arrived at the academy. Before they could run away, Harumi grabbed a shoulder of each boy, "I will be here to pick you up after school, do not wander away."

"Yes, Nee-chan," came the reply from the little boys. Harumi smiled at Naruto calling her big sister. Waving as they ran into the building, Harumi watched as they disappeared inside, into the care of the teacher. Glancing around for Tamotsu and failing to find him, she turned and saw that Kakashi had put his book away and was patiently waiting for her.

"It is time," he told her, and Harumi couldn't help the slight queasiness that settled into the pit of her stomach.

"Lead the way," she replied, and readied herself to jump onto the rooftops. However she was shocked when Kakashi walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder, before she could say anything Kakashi shunshined them straight to the Hokage's office. Used to the slight disorientation from the shunshin, she had to school her features to not show the shock at arriving inside the Hokage's office, because one DOES NOT just show up in the middle of the Hokage's office! That shock was nothing compared to the shock at the people in the room. Shikaku-oji was there, along with two ANBU along with the Hokage. Why didn't Shikaku-oji say anything this morning?

"Nice to see you on time Kakashi-kun," Lord Hokage said dryly.

"I couldn't let Harumi-san stress herself more than she already was," came the muffled reply.

Harumi turned to glare at Kakashi, "I am not.." she stopped herself before she finished the lie and just glared at him, but her fingers twitching gave away her desire to smack him over the head like she did her siblings.

Shikaku and Lord Hokage saw the movement and both smiled for different reasons. Shikaku because his niece was standing up for herself in the face of one of the most dangerous shinobi in Konoha. Hokage because he took this as a sign that Harumi was giving Kakashi something he hadn't had in a very long time, a family.

"Harumi-kun, please sit down. I have much to tell you. I do not need to tell you that what I am about to tell you is considered a S-rank mission and is not to be discussed with anyone outside this room, if it must be discussed at all."

Harumi sat down in the chair next to her uncle and nodded to show that she had indeed heard the Hokage.

"Good. Now you are aware that the jinchūriki known as Naruto Uzumaki has recently been place into the care of Kakashi Hatake," pausing to see her nod again, Hokage continued. "What you are not aware of is that Naruto was placed there because approximately four months ago, Naruto was viciously attacked to the point where he was almost dead. If he were not found when he was, then he surely would have died."

Harumi felt herself grow very still, someone tried to hurt, no to kill Naruto? The little boy who played pranks with her brother? The little boy who played in her back garden and ate dinner at her table last night. Suddenly Kakashi's behavior made so much more sense. Someone tried to kill Naruto and she threatened the same thing just last night. Granted she was threatening in play, but still, Kakashi would not have seen it that way.

"Since you will be taking care of Naruto for the next couple weeks, it is important for you to understand what is going on. In addition to the attempted murder, the threat has not been eliminated, in fact we are not sure where the threat is from. You will need to increase your security measures in your house. There will be an ANBU following Naruto and by extension, you, until Kakashi returns. If you feel you need extra security, Shikaku had offered you space in the Nara compound."

Harumi turned to look at her uncle, who nodded, "Only if you feel you need it, or would like the extra help. Your aunt would love for you to be closer to us, she worries," he shrugged as if that explained it all. Which, in a way it did, because her aunt was very protective of family. Even if she was pushy.

"Hm," Harumi replied, acknowledging that she heard her uncle.

"Kakashi can give you specifics when it comes to the day to day dealings with Naruto, however you need to be aware that he has had nightmares about the attack, so you will need to be able to deal with them. While the boy has not gotten too violent, Kakashi's words, you will need to be able to handle the situation. Do you understand the situation and accept this mission, Shimizu-san?"

Harumi took a minute to get her thoughts in order, "The mission is to protect Naruto Uzumaki from an unknown assailant?"

"In addition to the friendship and female leadership you have been providing, yes, your mission is to keep Naruto safe until Kakashi Hatake is able to take over again."

"Is there a danger to my siblings?"

"No threat has been revealed."

Harumi nodded, "I accept this mission, however I will not risk the safety of my siblings, if they become threatened.."

"You bring everyone to the compound," Shikaku interrupted.

Harumi looked at him, trying to gauge just what he was trying to say.

"You have a large family full of shinobi, we can help you. Hideaki and Maiko are both shinobi who can help to defend Naruto if needed. However, since they are not to know the threat, they can only react. It makes sense to come to the compound. We can always invent a need to get everyone out of the house, such as repairs needed or something."

Harumi nodded.

"Good," Hokage said, clapping his hands together, "Kakashi quickly inform Harumi about Naruto's nightmares and then you and Cat need to leave."

Kakashi waved Harumi over to where he was standing at the far end of the office, while Shikaku, the Hokage and the two ANBU stood around the desk discussing something, probably dividing up the watch Naruto mission.

"For the most part, I just pull Naruto into my bed when his nightmares get bad. He seems to respond well to just not being alone."

Harumi nodded, "Masahiro is the same."

Kakashi tilted his head and stared at her, "Did something happen last night?"

Harumi waved her hand, "Nothing much, Masahiro had an old nightmare last night. One he hadn't had since our parents died. However, it is only natural that he would after yesterday."

Kakashi frowned, "Is he okay?"

"Absolutely, he does the same thing whenever Hideaki or Maiko return from a mission hurt. It is something he needs to figure out on his own. As shinobi, we get hurt it is something we do." Wincing slightly as she took a deep breath, Harumi focused on the man in front of her.

"Are your ribs still hurting you?"

Harumi waved the concern away, "My ribs are fine."

"Then why are you being very careful with your movements?"

Harumi shrugged, "I did some sparing with my uncle and his team and Shikaku-oji got a lucky hit in."

"Why didn't you heal yourself after yesterday?"

"I did heal myself yesterday, this is new." Harumi said firmly.

"Why did you need to heal yourself yesterday?"

Harumi turned and saw that she and Kakashi were the focus of four pairs of eyes.

Harumi smiled, "Naruto and Masahiro decided that they wanted to do an impromptu ambush on me last night. Hideaki and Maiko decided to help. So it was four against me and I didn't make it out unscathed." Knowing that she told the truth, no one would suspect that she was holding back some vital information.

"Why didn't you say anything this morning?"

"I healed myself last night and woke up just fine. Unfortunately for me, you managed to kick right where my fracture was not fully knitted together." Seeing him frown, Harumi continued, "This is not the first time I have trained with an injury, nor will it be my last," Harumi shrugged.

"You are a medic, you should heal yourself so that you can do your job!" Shikaku snapped.

"I am not on mission, I am safe in the village. I did do my job, the fracture was knit together, but because I was not planning on having to run or do any great physical feats today, I didn't use my chakra to complete the healing," tilting her head a little as she turned to face her uncle, "It almost sounds like you are questioning my abilities, Uncle. I am sure that wasn't your intention," her voice dropping to a threatening level.

"I am not questioning your ability, Harumi-chan," Shikaku quickly replied, "but if you are to help Naruto, then you will need to be in top form."

"Well since I had no idea that I would be on a mission today, I didn't think there was a need for a full healing, after all, it is just some extra pressure on a small fracture."

"You know better now though, right?" The Hokage broke into the argument.

"Yes, Lord Hokage, I will fully heal myself as soon as we are finished here."

The Hokage waved his hand, "I think we are finished here my dear. You go ahead and get that fracture taken care of."

Bowing to the Hokage, Harumi walked to leave from the door this time when Kakashi called her name. Turning to look over at him, she reflexively caught the scroll tossed at her. "Naruto's things. If he needs anything else, while I am gone, he can get inside my apartment."

Nodding she turned to look at the group of men standing around the Hokage's desk, "Safe journey, Kakashi."

As the door closed, Shikaku turned to look at Kakashi, "What happened last night?"

Kakashi shrugged, "It is as Harumi said."

"Harumi-chan would not fracture her ribs during an impromptu ambush."

"I was the decoy, Shikaku. I didn't see what the kids did, I just did my part." Not wanting to say anything more, he turned to the Hokage, "In the information you gave me, it says that Harumi's genin team has an ANBU member on it. I would like to request that he be part of the surveillance team on Naruto. Having someone familiar to her, might help Harumi."

"By the definition, Harumi is not to know who the ANBU detail is, however I see no harm in that. Also if cover needs to be blown, then it is perfectly reasonable that her old teammate would stop in to talk to her or help out with the friend of her youngest brother."

Kakashi nodded, "If there is nothing else, then I will be leaving. I am supposed to be meeting with Cat in a little bit."

"Dismissed."

With a sharp salute, Kakashi disappeared with a flash of smoke. Appearing in his apartment Kakashi opened his wardrobe and started to pull out his ANBU armor, complete with his captain's mask. He pulled them out of his storage scroll early this morning, to air out the uniform and to inspect the armor to ensure that nothing was damaged. Kakashi quickly put on the standard black pants and sleeveless shirt, the he put on the black leg wraps, his weapons pouch, the gloves and his flack vest. Then he placed the armguards on and finally the sword he always had on his back. Putting his mask on and tucking a storage scroll into one of the many hidden pockets, Kakashi was ready. With one last look around, Kakashi jumped out of his window and headed towards where he was meeting Itachi. This was going to be an easy mission, well not easy, but less dangerous than some of the other missions he had been on in the past.

It wasn't an assassination, or even to steal information from someone. It was just a get someplace and listen to the people around them. A simple mission to gather some information.

 **AN:This is a shorter chapter, but it was necessary to end it there, because the next part doesn't leave a good place to end, and really I just wanted to post something this week. With NaNoWriMo in a couple weeks, I am working hard to get some chapters written so I can focus on my NaNo (which is a Gaara/OC fic, incidentally) during November but still keep to a regular upload schedule.  
**

 **For those wondering about the part Kakashi and Naruto is going to play in this, they are a large part of this story. We are coming to the point where the perspective starts to switch from Harumi to Kakashi. I will admit that Harumi is much easier to write for me because I have extra freedom to throw her into any situation and not worry about if her reaction will be too OOC. The next chapter has more of Team Ro in it, so please look out for it sooner rather than later *fingers crossed*  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the character, just Harumi and her family.**

 **Two weeks later**

"A simple mission to gather information, huh?" Itachi grunted, "Nothing can go wrong, right?"

"Well, it isn't like I was expecting to come across a bunch of S-rank missing-nin, Itachi!" Kakashi grumbled.

"Yes, well you are not the one who is carrying your sorry carcass back to Konoha, Taichou, so why are you complaining?"

Kakashi tried to laugh, only to start coughing, "I didn't ask you to carry me."

"Letting you bleed to death in enemy territory is not something that the Hokage will be pleased with."

Kakashi shook his head, "You could have called for help or something."

"Pakkun already did that, or did you forget that part?"

"He did?"

Itachi bent his knees and slowly lowered Kakashi to the ground, with his back against a tree, "Yes, Kakashi-taichou, he did. We should be near the meeting point for our help."

"I wonder…" whatever Kakashi was going to say was lost as another round of coughing wrecked Kakashi. Wiping his hand across his mouth, Kakashi saw blood, quickly putting his hand behind his back to hide the evidence from Itachi, no need to worry the kid more.

"Don't bother trying to hide it, I already know you are coughing up blood." Before Kakashi could ask how, Itachi took a bandage and started to wipe the blood off his arm where Kakashi's face had been resting.

Kakashi smiled weakly, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Do not worry about it, at least you are not bleeding like a stuck pig anymore."

A twig snapping had Itachi jumping up to his feet standing between Kakashi and the noise, activating his Sharingan and pulling his sword.

"No need to stand on my account," a familiar voice called out, "after all I am just coming to your rescue, again."

Itachi relaxed a fraction, "Tenzō-san, what are you doing here?"

"Coming to save your collective asses, of course. Pakkun came and woke up the rest of Team Ro. Since I am the only one who was free to come, here I am," Tenzō shrugged. "Now what is the problem? Pakkun said that Kakashi-taichou was hurt?"

Itachi nodded, "I can't be sure, but I think he has a couple broken ribs and his lung or lungs are injured because he keeps coughing up blood."

"So to the hospital?"

"No," Kakashi coughed, "hospitals will leave records."

Tenzō knelt down to look Kakashi in the eye, "So where do you want to go?"

"To Shimizu-san's house, there is a medic there who will help."

Tenzō stood up and looked at Itachi, "Do you know where this Shinizu-san lives?"

Itachi nodded.

Tenzō picked Kakashi up, careful not to put pressure on his chest, "I will follow you then."

Itachi nodded again and shunshined to the outskirts of the village, not able to go any further. When Tenzo caught up, they walked the rest of the way.

A loud knocking on her bedroom door had Harumi sitting straight up in bed. Grabbing the robe she started keeping at the foot of her bed after the first night Naruto had a nightmare, she opened the door, only to be face to face with a masked ANBU.

"Come," came the order before he turned and walked down the stairs.

Not fully awake, Harumi followed the masked man into her kitchen, where she was stunned to find Kakashi bleeding all over her clean floor! "What happened?"

The ANBU shrugged, "Can you fix him?"

"Bring him over here," Harumi motioned to the laundry room, "Lay him down there," she pointed to the small cot in the corner. "What happened to him?"

The one with black long hair answered, "We were on a mission when we came across a group of missing-nin who decided we were easy targets. Kakashi was stabbed multiple times and is coughing up blood."

Harumi nodded, and quickly walked out of the room and got a pan full of water on the stove to boil. Walking back into the laundry room where Kakashi and the masked ANBU were in the middle of a conversation. Grabbing some towels and tossing them on a small table, also digging through her scrolls and pulling out five and placing them on the table also. Opening one of the scrolls, Harumi unsealed a pair of scissors and handed them to the man, "Get his shirt off, if he can't take it off over his head, cut it off." Nodding to the towels, "I'm going to get the water and you two," Harumi turned to look at the long haired man, "can get some of the blood off while I get the rest of my supplies ready."

Both men nodded, while Kakashi stared at Harumi, "Thank you Harumi-san."

Harumi looked at him, "Don't thank me, this is my job. Although why I am doing it instead of the hospital, is a mystery to me." Glaring at the one-eyed shinobi, "A mystery that I will get the answers too Kakashi-san!"

Harumi put away one scroll and quickly walked out to the kitchen with the other four. Unrolling the scrolls until she found the correct seals, Harumi quickly started to unseal the different pieces of equipment she would need, including antibiotics, needles and thread. However knowing that most of the healing would be done through chakra does not mean that one shouldn't also be prepared for using more traditional methods. Pouring half of the boiling water into a bowl and adding some cold water to bring the temperature down so it won't burn, Harumi checked the temperature. Finding it just warmer than comfortable, she added more cold water before standing up.

Walking into the laundry room, Harumi heard the ANBU said, "Yeah, I had to hear about it from Pakkun. You two dumb asses went off without me and look what happens!"

"What part of S-class mission did you miss?" Kakashi groaned.

"The part where we ever gave a fuck about that sort of thing. Retired or not, you are still part of our team. Hell you got Itachi-taichou involved, why not me?"

"Hokage's orders. Our missions just overlapped."

"Yeah, well you are still an ass."

Kakashi groaned as the masked man pushed on his shoulder.

"If you two can't behave, I will turn around and drag the two of you out of here. Or maybe I will string you up by your toes and use you as a punching bag and only heal you when you pass out!" Harumi growled at the two before they started to fight in earnest.

The masked man turned and fixed a hard stare at her, Harumi was thoroughly unimpressed. "Turn those eyes somewhere else, ANBU-san, I am in no mood to deal with the two of you bickering. I am tired. I have a house full of my precious people that I will not hesitate to protect! You are welcome to go to the hospital if you don't like my rules," she stormed out of the room after setting the bowl down with a thump.

Itachi's lips moved up slightly at the corner, "I think I could help her," he said as he dipped a corner of the towel into the water to start cleaning off some of the blood from Kakashi's chest.

"And you, how could you possibly think it was okay to go out just the two of you with no backup?"

"Tenzō, we were under orders. Besides, this was only to be a short and simple mission. Just to get some information from a retired shinobi. It is not our fault that we met with a problem on our way back," Itachi said as he continued to clean off Kakashi's chest, ignoring the grunts of pain. "Besides, nothing you say will change what has happened. All we can do now is get Kakashi-taichou healed by Shimizu-sensei. Then after that, you can yell at the two of us. But for now, you need to stop fighting with Kakashi-taichou."

"Fine," Tenzō said with a frown evident in his tone. "Heal first, then kicking your ass."

Harumi walked in with a small platter, on it were three cups of tea and the medical supplies she pulled from her scrolls. "Drink the tea, you two. I need to concentrate now."

Setting the platter on the table, next to the bowl of now bloody water. Then she knelt down on the floor next to Kakashi. Taking a deep breath, Harumi focused on sending her chakra to her hands, once they started to glow green, she slowly moved her hands over the wound on Kakashi's chest. The stab wounds would be fairly easy to mend, however it was the coughing up blood that was worrisome. Sending more chakra into Kakashi, she found the cause of the blood and quickly began to mend the lungs and blood vessels. While healing Harumi loses track of time, especially when it is an intense healing such as this one.

After taking one last check to ensure that Kakashi was otherwise healed, Harumi stopped the flow of chakra and leaned back on her heels. Turning her head, she saw she was the focus of the two other men in her laundry room.

The one with long hair looked at her and asked, "Is Kakashi- taichou healed?"

Nodding, "Yes, he had more damage than I expected, but he should be fine now. All he needs now is some sleep." Slowly she stood up and held a hand out to the one with long hair, "Are you in need of healing too?"

He shook his head, "I just have some bruises, nothing that requires your attention."

"If you are sure, I would suggest that you both go to your homes and rest, but I know enough to know about ANBU, that you will not. I can't offer either of you a bed, but I am told the couch is comfortable."

Placing the bowl of water, the bloody towels onto the tray with the medical supplies she didn't need, Harumi slowly walked into the kitchen. Putting the tea kettle on, she dumped the cold tea out of the cup, put a new tea bag in there, waiting for the water to heat for a fresh cup of tea. She then dumped the bloody water down the drain, she filled it up with cold water and proceeded to soak the bloody towels.

"Excuse me, Shimizu-sensei," came a soft voice from behind her.

Turning Harumi gave a tired smile at the long haired man, "Yes?"

"Is there a bathroom where I can wash some of the blood and dirt off?"

She nodded, "Of course, you are free to use the washroom down on this floor, or you could use my bathroom?"

"A shower would be most helpful."

"Follow me then, quietly please." Harumi walked up the stairs, but not before she stuck her head into the laundry to check on Kakashi and to grab a fresh towel. Slowly opening the door to her room, Harumi directed the man into the connected bathroom. "If you want I can get you a change of clothes, so you do not have to put the bloody things back on, but that is up to you."

"Thank you, but I have an extra set of clothes I can put on."

"Okay, then I will leave you to enjoy your shower." Once the door to the bathroom was closed, Harumi walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out a sleeveless black stomach baring top, a short sleeved purple hoodie with a black hood and a black skirt which she quickly put on before walking out into the hallway and softly closed the door. Stopping in front of the room Masahiro and Naruto shared, she listened for any hint of a nightmare or that they were awake. Not hearing anything Harumi continued down stairs and entered the kitchen to see the ANBU pouring water into her cup.

"Feel free to make yourself some as well, ANBU-san."

Turning, he gestured to the fresh cup of tea on the counter.

"Well okay then. Thank you for pouring my tea." Harumi quickly walked back to the sink, dumped the now bloody water out, put more cold water in and wrung out the towels before washing them out under cold water and placing them into the bowl of cold water again. Picking up her tea, she walked into the laundry room and placed a hand on Kakashi's chest, feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest, Harumi placed her hand on his head, feeling him twitch, with the help of some chakra, she pushed him further into a healing sleep.

"He doesn't like being deep asleep," came the whisper from the doorway.

Turning she smiled, took a sip of her tea before walking over to the ANBU in her doorway, "He might not like it, but he needs it. Besides you are here, the other shinobi is here and I am perfectly capable of protecting people in my house. So there is no need for him to do anything other than sleep."

Sitting down at the table, Harumi slowly drank her tea, closing her eyes, trying to relax enough to meditate. Unfortunately the two men she didn't know were moving around and talking softly in the living room. Shaking her head, she walked over to the living room, "Would either of you like something to eat? I was thinking of making something small."

Both men shook their heads, so Harumi shrugged and walked over to the freezer and pulled out some frozen mochi and set it on a plate for her to eat after she rinsed the towels one more time to ensure the blood would not set. Once that was done she took her mochi and sat at the table where she could keep an eye on Kakashi.

What felt like minutes later, Harumi heard the familiar sound of Hideaki moving around in his room. Her eyes shot open and she sat up because at some point she laid her head on the table. The sky was just starting to lighten, meaning dawn was approaching and Hideaki would be leaving for some training soon. She took a second to remember why she was sleeping at the table when soft snores had her jumping to her feet. The two men that brought Kakashi in were sleeping on her couch, from the looks of things, they just passed out.

Standing across from the two shinobi on the couch, Harumi tossed a spare pillow into the small space between them. Both men jerked awake, kunai in hand. "My brother is awake and will be down here soon. So unless you want him to see you, you need to go, or hide. If you don't mind him seeing you then you need to get out of your ANBU uniforms."

Quickly walking away from the two men, Harumi quickly grabbed the wet, and still just a little bloody towels and quickly took them to the laundry room. Tossing the towels into the washer, she turned to check on Kakashi. Seeing that he was still sleeping soundly, but no longer the deep sleep of healing, she walked back into the living room, finding no one there, she took a blanket off of the couch and returned to cover Kakashi with it. Closing the laundry room door a fraction, she walked back into the kitchen to clean up any remnants of the late night medical call. To her surprise, she found that the tea cups were washed and put away and the tea kettle was on the stove, full and ready for use this morning.

Hideaki walked down into the kitchen to find Harumi making tea, "Good morning, Hide-kun. Do you have time for breakfast before you train?"

Hideaki shook his head, "Not this morning, but it should only be a quick training session, my team and I have a busy day ahead and wanted to get a quick training session in before our missions."

Harumi smiled, set her tea down and ruffled her brother's hair, "Then you will be hungry when you are done. Any requests?"

"Miso soup and salmon?"

Harumi smiled, "I can do that," with a shooing motion, "go, you don't want to be late."

"Nee-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Can I have my team come over for dinner tonight? It has been a while since we all had a meal together."

"Of course, you are all welcome any time. Are you sure you wouldn't rather go out though?"

Hideaki laughed, "Nah, besides Emi-chan misses your cooking."

Harumi grinned, "Invite them over then."

With a small wave, Hideaki walked out the front door off to meet his team mates. Harumi turned to get started on breakfast. Quickly adding rice and water to the rice cooker and turning that on, Harumi turns to the refrigerator to get the ingredients out for miso soup and taking some salmon out of the freezer to thaw before Hideaki comes back in an hour. However before she could do more than put everything she needed on the counter, Harumi heard _her_ bedroom door open?!

Walking over to the stairs she was shocked to see the two men from last night walking out of her bedroom wearing new clothes. The one with long hair had changed into a black shirt and tan pants while the ANBU was maskless and wearing a standard shinobi uniform minus the patches, complete with green flack vest. Blinking twice to make sure she was really seeing this, Harumi turned and walked back to the counter to continue making breakfast. Knowing that it would be an hour or more before the rest of the family were up, she just finished making the base for the miso soup. She also took down two more tea cups and waved them at the two men.

After the soup was heating on the stove she turned to face the two men. "I guess this means you will be sticking around for a little while?"

Both men nodded.

"Then introductions are required, since I will more than likely have to introduce you to my family. I'm Shimizu Harumi."

The one with long hair gave her a small bow and said, "My name is Uchiha Itachi and this is Tenzō." Tenzō's head bowed a little.

"So I will introduce you as friends of Kakashi-san," Harumi said firmly.

"Kakashi- taichou doesn't have friends, Shimizu-sensei," Itachi replied.

Harumi rolled her eyes, "Well unless you have a better reason to be here watching over Kakashi-san, that is what we are going to say."

"Why do we need to say anything?" Tenzō asked.

"Because I have two shinobi siblings and two little boys who will be here for breakfast and they will want to know why you are here. One of those boys is Kakashi-san's ward, which means he is entitled to know why you are guarding his guardian. So unless you want to explain to a five year old, why Kakashi-san was hurt, it is easiest to go with friend."

"We could be teammates," Itachi offered.

"Same thing to Naruto-kun," Harumi muttered then a little louder, "Teammates it is. Now I am making breakfast, is there anything specific you would like me to make? Hide-kun has requested miso soup and salmon."

"Whatever you make Shimizu-sensei is fine with us."

Harumi frowned, "Harumi, please. I am just a simple medic-nin, no need for formality in this house."

Itachi bowed again, "As you wish Harumi-san. Please call us Itachi and Tenzō."

Saved from having to say anything else by Kakashi sitting up. "Where..?"

Hurrying into the laundry room, Harumi stopped in front of him, "Kakashi-san! How are you feeling this morning?" Placing her hand on his head, she performed a quick scan with her chakra to make sure his lungs were still healed and the cuts and stab wounds were fully healed.

"Mh, Harumi-san? Where am I?"

"My house, your friends brought you here last night and I healed you," Harumi smiled, satisfied that Kakashi had indeed been fully healed and was suffering no ill effects. "Can you sit up?"

Kakashi grimaced as he tried to sit up, frowning when Harumi's arm came behind him and helped. Watching as she placed some pillows behind his back to support his back and helped him lean against them. "What was wrong?"

"You had numerous stab wounds and cuts, which I just helped to finish closing. Your worst wound was the puncture in your lungs. That one I healed fully, but your ribs will be sore because some were bruised and fractured. So you will need to take it easy for a little while."

Itachi and Tenzō both laughed quietly, "The day Senpai takes it easy is the day the end of the world is coming," Tenzō said.

"Unfortunately that is a common problem. But because I didn't fully heal his ribs," Harumi looked at Kakashi in the eyes, "You will have to take it easier for a while, it will hurt if you don't."

"Maa, I will think about it," Kakashi replied.

"Now the boys will be awake in less than one hour, how did you want to meet Naruto?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you want to pick him up after school? Or would you rather see him before breakfast?"

"Is there a better time to meet him?"

"I don't think it matters to him. The timing is all for you, I think it is easier to see them off to school, that way there is a time limit to how many questions they can ask."

Kakashi nodded, "Then I will meet him before breakfast."

Harumi nodded, "You will need to get cleaned up, you are still covered in dirt and blood. You will also want to get clean clothes on."

Kakashi looked down at himself, "I have a clean uniform in my pack."

Itachi handed Kakashi his pack and Kakashi nodded his thanks.

"Come with me then, you can use my shower and get cleaned up," Harumi stood up and stood back, ready to help if Kakashi needed it. Slowly Kakashi swung his legs over the side of the cot and turned. Once the light headed feeling passed, he slowly stood up. Taking short breaths to manage the pain, Kakashi slowly followed Harumi up the stairs.

"Here is my room," Harumi slid open the door to her room keeping her voice down. Walking into the direction of the other door in the room she continued, "I will pull out a couple towels for you to use, there is no hurry so take your time. If you need something, feel free to yell, I am sure one of your friends will be outside the door as soon as I leave," Harumi laughed softly. She held up her hand, "Would you like me to finish healing your ribs? I am rested now."

Kakashi shrugged, "It would be nice."

Harumi nodded and stood in front of Kakashi concentrating and slowly she finished knitting together his ribs fully. She nodded and took her hand away, "Just take it easy for a little while, you may be healed, but that does not mean that you are in any shape to go running around the village like a child. Is there anything special you would like for breakfast? Should I make you a lunch while I am making the kids' lunch?"

Kakashi just stood there and stared at her, after a few minutes of the show down, Harumi smiled, shrugged and quickly walked over to the bathroom and pulled some clean towels out of the cabinet there, took the dirty towel from Itachi and started to walk out of the room. As she turned to close the door, she heard Kakashi say.

"Anything for breakfast is fine, I like most foods, especially hot food right now."

"Okay, I will see you downstairs then." Closing the door, Harumi smiled when she spotted Tenzō at the top of the stairs. "If you think he needs help, don't hesitate to enter my room. I will deal with any fallout. As the medic on hand, my orders are law."

Tenzō smiled and nodded, "Arigato, Harumi-san."

Continuing down the stairs to the kitchen, Harumi quickly laid out the bento boxes, stacking the layers together. Walking over to the refrigerator she took out the leftover steamed vegetables, rice, beans and cucumbers from last night. Quickly dividing the vegetables and rice between the four bento boxes. Taking the beans and cucumbers, she quickly made a small salad to put into the fifth box. Tilting her head, she could hear the sounds of the sleeping kids waking up. Setting the bento boxes off to the side, she quickly seasoned the salmon and set it under the broiler. Then she turned on the tea kettle to make tea. Adding the prepared vegetables and tofu to the miso soup, including the eggplant that Naruto may or may not have said that was Kakashi's favorite. However, knowing Naruto's dislike of anything looking like a vegetable, she made sure to chop up all of the vegetables small.

"Is there anything I can do to help you, Harumi-san?" Itachi asked, standing on the other side of the oven.

Harumi looked up from the soup and grinned, "How are you at making onigiri?"

Itachi's lips twitched noticeably upwards, "I like to eat it, however oka-san says I am useless making them."

"Okay then, would you like me to make you some to take with you while you report to Lord Hokage?"

Itachi bowed, "If it isn't too much trouble."

Harumi waved her hand as if to wave his response away, "It is what I eat for lunch, one handed foods are always good so I can finish reports or eat while walking towards my next patient."

Opening the rice cooker, she quickly scooped out a portion of the freshly cooked rice and set it in a bowl. Taking out four sheets of seaweed and quickly cut them into four sheets each. Opening the refrigerator again, she pulled out some of the cooked seaweed and then quickly set about making the rice balls. Handing one of the finished ones to Itachi, she smiled as he took a bite.

"It is good," he said.

"I will ignore the slight surprise in your voice," Harumi smiled. "I will just pack yours up and leave it with the bento boxes."

Moving to the pantry, Harumi took out a small box of wafers and jar of azuki bean jam. She also grabbed a couple extra boxes to add to the growing pile of boxes on her counter. Smiling she remembered walking down the stairs to see kaa-san making breakfast and lunch and just as quickly the entire kitchen would be cleaned and ready for everyone to start eating. It was why Harumi took such great pains to ensure that all of her siblings had lunches and a healthy breakfast to start their day. While dinner was a little more relaxed, especially if she had a hard day at the hospital.

Working quickly, she took the salmon out of the oven, took half of what she cooked and set it on the cutting board to flake and put on top of the rice in the kids' bento boxes. Before she could finish, she heard Hideaki shout, "What are you doing in my sister's room? Are you wet!?"

 **AN: So this will probably by my last entry for the month of November. I had hoped to finish a few more chapters before NaNoWriMo started, but due to life, I wasn't able to get to it. Unless Harumi starts yelling at me again.  
**

 **Thank you to all who offered an OC for me to play with, I have PM'ed those that I know I can use and will keep everyone else in mind, because who knows what will happen with Kakashi and Harumi really start going.**

 **I hope you are enjoying this story and that this isn't getting too "every day life boring." Also that the medical stuff wasn't too "magical" I wanted to be able to strike a balance between Harumi being good at being a medic, but also knowing that she isn't Tsunade or even a powerhouse like Kakashi, Itachi, Naruto or Sasuke.**

 **As always, let me know what you think, constructive criticism is always welcomed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the character, just Harumi and her family.**

Kakashi turned the water up as hot as it would go, as part of his post mission ritual, Kakashi always felt the scolding hot water was a way to wash him clean from whatever the mission entailed. Thankfully he packed a full set of toiletries. Because from the looks of it, Harumi liked floral stuff and Hatake Kakashi does not do flowers. He stayed in the shower until the water turned cool, letting the heat relax his muscles while it also helped to remind him that he was safe in the village. Stepping out of the shower, he quickly dried off and put his shirt and pants on. Keeping his mask off, he quickly shaved and then pulled his mask up over his nose, in the event Tenzō or Itachi decided that he needed help, his face would be covered. Rubbing his still wet hair with a towel, Kakashi put all of his toiletries back into a small bag and resealed the bag inside one of his storage scrolls.

Satisfied that he was clean enough for breakfast with the Shimizu family, he quickly packed his pack again and walked out of the room, giving his wet hair one last rub with the towel to ensure he didn't drip all over the floor, when a voice yelled, "What are you doing in my sister's room? Are you wet?"

Turning he saw three sets of dark blue eyes and one set of bright blue eyes. The owner of the bright blue eyes quickly smiled and shouted, "Kaka-nii-san! You're back!"

Leaning down slightly to catch the small bundle of energy as it flew at him. "Good morning, Naruto, yes I am back. Harumi-san was nice enough to invite me and my team over for breakfast."

"Still does not answer why you are in my sister's room," Hideaki demanded again.

Thankfully before he had to come up with an excuse, Harumi arrived with Tenzō following.

"Kakashi-san and the rest of his team arrived right after you left for your training. Since he was worried about Naruto, I invited everyone to stay for breakfast. Since it is easier for everyone to just take a shower and get changed here rather than try to go back to their homes, clean up and get back here before it is time to eat." Harumi gave Hideaki and Maiko a hard stare. "However, for future reference, it is considered polite to ask your sibling those questions and not yell it at the person walking out of my room."

Placing a hand on Masahiro's back she gently pushed him towards the stairs. "Time for breakfast, anyone who wants to continue questioning Kakashi-san can continue after we eat," Harumi continued firmly. "Or you could not question him at all and ask me."

Herding everyone down the stairs, Harumi smiled over her shoulder, "Kakashi-san, Tenzō-san, you can use my room if you still need to talk about something."

"Maa, we are fine," Kakashi replied. Families were confusing to him, the Shimizu family was even more confusing. They were a family of shinobi, yet none of them treated each other as adults, or as individuals. But they treated each other more like they were all a single entity with different parts, more like a very close team, granted, a very overprotective team, but not like the families he had observed before and definitely not like his relationship with his father.

Tenzō looked over at Kakashi, "Not the first time you were yelled at for coming out of a female's room, huh?"

Kakashi glared at him and drawled, "No, but the first time when I was not on a mission. Where were you when they showed up?"

"When I heard the kids start moving, I thought it was best to hide so to avoid questions."

Kakashi smirked, "You mean you were afraid of a bunch of kids, a genin and a chūnin."

Tenzō shrugged ignoring the question he asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Let's go and eat, then I will need to go report to the Hokage."

"I have already made our report to Lord Hokage, senpai, he said he will take your report after you have taken Naruto-kun to the Academy this morning," Itachi spoke up, catching the last sentence.

Kakashi nodded to show that he heard, but his focus was on sight in front of him. Harumi was moving the food to the table, on the counter was a collection of bento boxes and three extra containers with rice balls (onigiri) and the cookie sandwich (monaka) that Harumi obviously made. Harumi's siblings, Naruto and Itachi were sitting at the table, a spot between Naruto and Maiko was open, as was the head and foot of the table. Everyone was smiling, although it was a little forced in the older people at the table.

"Kaka-nii-san, sit next to me!" Naruto shouted, patting the seat next to him.

Kakashi sighed and did as Naruto demanded, which put him directly across from Hideaki. Tenzō took the seat at the foot of the table. Harumi quickly finished setting out the food and said "Everyone start eating," as she turned to make some fresh tea. "Anyone want coffee?"

The three ANBU men asked for the coffee, so Harumi quickly pulled out the coffee pot and made the coffee, thankfully it only took a few minutes before it was finished. Harumi kept an ear on the conversation behind her, thankfully it was dominated by Naruto telling Kakashi everything that had happened during the two weeks he was gone.

"And Harumi-chan took Masahiro and me to the training grounds and showed us the difference between the wooden weapons at school and real ones. She said that I need to ask you before she would teach me how to throw the real ones. Then we talked about chakra control and she showed us how to walk up a tree without using our hands. Can you walk up a tree without your hands Kaka-niisan?" Taking a bite of salmon and a breath, Naruto continued, "Then we went to the Nara compound and I met Masahiro's cousins and we played games and watched clouds. I also got to see Maiko practice her clan's jutsu which is super cool!"

"Naruto!" Harumi broke in as the little boy took a breath, "Eat first, then talk or else you will be going to the academy hungry with nothing to eat until lunch."

"Yes, Harumi-chan," Naruto replied, quickly stuffing food into his mouth.

"Remember to chew, Naruto-kun, I refuse to have you choke at breakfast again."

Naruto nodded again and Kakashi watched his jaw move as he chewed his food.

"So these are your teammates, Kakashi-san?" Maiko asked.

Kakashi nodded and swallowed his soup, before he could answer Itachi spoke up, "We are some of his teammates. Taichou is versatile and is very smart, which means he is needed for many missions."

Tenzō grinned, "Yes if Kakashi-senpai is on your team, you will come home."

Harumi turned around with cups of coffee, just in time to see Naruto go pale, "Does that mean this was a dangerous mission?" he asked softly.

Kakashi glared at Tenzō, "Not at all Naruto, I told you it was a simple mission to gather information."

Naruto nodded and continued to eat. Harumi set the coffee in front of the three men before sitting down and serving herself some rice and salmon. The soup could wait until after she took the boys to school and she was at her desk doing some paperwork.

"Hideaki, Maiko, Masahiro and Naruto, this is Uchiha Itachi and Tenzō-san. Itachi-san, Tenzō-san, these are my siblings, Shimizu Hideaki, Maiko and Masahiro, and Uzumaki Naruto," Harumi said quickly before taking a small sip of her tea, pointing to each person as she said their name.

There were murmured hellos from everyone, but for the most part the conversation was limited to asking for food for a few minutes. Harumi took those few minutes to enjoy the silence around her.

Silence which was broken by a knock at the front door. Sending a puzzled look down the table to everyone, she stood up and walked through the front room to get to the front door. To her surprise it was another ANBU mask, this time some sort of bird that greeted her. "ANBU-san, is there a reason you are at my door this early?"

The ANBU nodded, "I am here to ensure that Hatake-sensei, Uchiha-san and Tenzō-san are safe and escorted to the Hokage's office."

Harumi frowned, "Are you saying that that you are here to make sure three grown men are on time?" Harumi sighed and shook her head, "Did you want to come in, or are you going to watch from the shadows? And if you are going to watch from the shadows, why even tell me that you are here?"

The ANBU shrugged, "My orders were to come to the door and let who ever answers that I will be here to escort them to the Hokage's office."

Harumi rolled her eyes, "Fine I will pass on the message."

With a nod, the Bird ANBU jumped out of sight. Rolling her eyes again, Harumi walked into the kitchen, taking note of the time she started to take the dishes and load them into the dishwasher, "Boys, you have fifteen minutes before we leave, finish your food, take care of your plates and go wash your face and brush your teeth."

"Yes, Nee-chan" the boys chorused.

Once they were upstairs, she turned to Kakashi, "A bird was at the door to let you know they are here to escort your team to the Hokage's office after you take Naruto to the academy."

Kakashi frowned and Tenzō coughed to cover his laugh.

"Hideaki, Maiko, your lunches are here. You are both old enough to know what to do in the morning. I am taking the boys to the academy and then I have an early shift at the hospital, I am also on call for emergency medical help today, so if I am going to be late I will let you both know and Tamotsu will keep both boys, if Kakashi-san is not there to pick up Naruto, just Masahiro if he does. I will need one of you to pick him up. If Tamotsu is in the mission room again, then he will just take Masahiro with him and he will let you know."

"Yes, Nee-chan," the older two chorused.

"Itachi-san, Tenzō and Kakashi-san, I made each of you a small box of food for you to take with you, if you would like it. I am not sure how long your report will take, and I am sure you all will need a snack in a few hours anyway."

"Yes, Harumi-san," chorused the three ANBU men in her kitchen.

Smiling she quickly boxed up the leftover food from breakfast and set a small container of soup on her bento box before taking Naruto and Masahiro's boxes over to the door. She came back and took hers to the door. Watching as the people at her table worked hard to not say anything, Harumi rolled her eyes and leaned over to press her cheek against Maiko's and ruffle Hideaki's hair. "I hope you two have a good day. Tell me all about it over dinner. Hideaki, let your teammates know that I am looking forward to having them at our table again tonight."

Turning she handed the boxes she made for Itachi, Tenzō and Kakashi to them, "We need to go if you were planning on taking Naruto to the academy with me."

Kakashi stood up, "I promised Naruto I would."

Tenzō and Itachi looked at each other, "We will head over to the Tower and wait for you."

Kakashi nodded.

Harumi stuck her head over the stair railing, "Boys, I am leaving now!"

Two sets of feet came pounding down the stairs as Masahiro and Naruto ran down the stairs and walked quickly to the front door to put their sandals on. Harumi slipped into her low heeled shoes and picked up the lunch boxes and handed one to each boy. Kakashi quickly slipped on his sandals and followed the small group as they walked down the road, with a final smile and wave, Itachi and Tenzō followed suit.

"What do we do about Hatake-san and nee-chan?" Maiko asked.

"For now, we watch. But I think there is more going on. Before he left on his mission Hatake-san said that there was a threat to Naruto," Hideaki answered.

"We will watch," Maiko agreed, as she gathered the remaining dishing and put them into the dishwasher, and started it. "I have training this morning and then a D-rank this afternoon I think, sensei wasn't sure since we are banned from catching that cat."

Hideaki laughed, "I wish I had thought of glue paper and the cat's favorite food."

Maiko shrugged, "Eh, it wasn't my idea, besides, we lost the client."

"True enough, well I have to go. My team is coming over for dinner. I will see you then."

"Bye!"

Naruto continued to tell Kakashi about all the things that happened, it seemed that being with the Shimizu family has done the boy good. He is interacting with other children his age, training, and doing well in school. Apparently he has a favorite story and likes to read it before bed time, when "nee-chan" makes Masahiro be in bed for quiet time before it is lights out.

"I liked playing at the park the best, the swings are my favorite. It is not as fun a training, but there are more kids to play ninja with and they have swings!" Naruto continued.

Soon though, they arrived at the academy, and Kakashi was happy to see Naruto walk straight into the building without any prompting from him.

Harumi turned to Kakashi, "If you want me to pick up the boys, I can. My old teammate is one of the teachers here, so it is fairly easy to have someone watch the boys if I am late."

"How does he know if you will be late?"

"I send him a message, and he responds. Sometimes if I catch him before school starts I can let him know. But since I have been put on the emergency response team for the rest of the week, I have had to be flexible."

"How do the boys know when to go to the teacher or not?"

"Well simply, if I am not here, they wait for Tamotsu-kun to come. Since Tamotsu has been around Masahiro for most of Masahiro's life, it is not unusual for them to be seen together. Also since he is a teacher, it is easier for him to leave the class early to pick up the boys if there is an active threat."

Kakashi's ears perked up, "Active threat? Was there one while I was gone and you forgot to tell me about it?"

"No, nothing like that. But after you left I asked Shikaku-oji to help me with limiting the possibilities of Naruto being in a place where he could be attacked again. We came up with limiting his exposure as much as we could. So this meant finding ways to keep him active inside, or at least within walls that we could control. So talking to Tamotsu and having the boys stay in his classroom after school and playing with my cousins at the Nara compound became staples of life here. Yoshino-oba, said that you are welcome to bring Naruto over to play any time you want. Oh and since Naruto says you have dogs, I figured it would be alright for us to try and arrange a play date with the Inuzuka clan, my sister is on a team with one of the sons, or cousin, or something; but since you are here, it is your call."

Kakashi nodded, "Unless something happens, I will pick up Naruto and Masahiro if you wouldn't mind. I can take them over to my place and you can pick them up if you are called?" Because that is what a friend does, right? Kakashi decided he needed to figure out what is appropriate. Harumi didn't look offended at all, in fact she looked happy?

"That sounds like a plan. However I will have Maiko pick Masahiro up if I have to stay later. Just make sure Masahiro gets his homework done before the boys start to play. And if you need too, please feel free to use my home if your is too small for the active boys."

Kakashi shrugged, "Maa, I am sure it won't be a problem."

Harumi nodded, "Then I will contact you if needed. Good luck with the Hokage." Waving she turned to walk to the hospital her mind focusing on the work day in front of her.

Crow dropped down next to Kakashi as he started to move towards the Hokage tower. With a quick hand signal, both jumped onto the roof. "She is very protective of the child," Crow observed.

"Yep," Kakashi agreed, "So why are you walking me to the Hokage's office?"

"Lord Hokage has his reasons. The biggest I am sure is he didn't want you to meet up with any problems on your way to report to him, especially since he heard you were gravely injured last night."

Kakashi frowned but wisely didn't say anything to the messenger, instead saved it for the man in charge. Quickly the two men raced across the rooftops only to jump through the window of the Hokage's office. "Yo," came Kakashi's greeting as he moved further into the room. Standing next to Itachi, Kakashi quickly surveyed the rest of the people in the room. Shikaku was there of course, as was Crow, Mouse and Tenzō.

"I see there is a way to get you to arrive on time," Sarutobi commented, "Now that you are here we can begin. Tell me what you found out."

Using his ANBU reporting voice, which is monotone and void of all emotion, Kakashi gave his report. "There is talk of a rogue Uchiha who is looking for an army. He is going around and recruiting missing-nin, telling them all of a new world he wants to create. This person has a Sharingan that he uses to wipe out whole groups of people who stand in the way of his goal. It is unclear if there is any connection between the rogue Uchiha and the attack on Naruto, however there are sightings of this man in near by towns before and after the attack occurred."

"Is this man a threat to Konoha?"

"Until more information is found, I say that this man is most definitely a threat," Kakashi concluded.

"Then I will expect all of you to keep vigilant and report to me any instances you hear about this rogue Uchiha."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," everyone in the room replied.

"Now who attacked you?"

"On our way back, a group of missing-nin ambushed us. I didn't stop to ask why they were attacking, but since they were wearing the same black robes and the same forehead protector I assume they were together."

"If they were wearing the same forehead protector, how did you know they were missing-nin?" Shikaku asked.

"Though they were wearing the same forehead protector, a few of them I or Itachi recognized from the Bingo book," Kakashi answered.

"That is troubling," Sarutobi said. The room was silent for a minute while the Hokage thought, then he took a deep inhale of his pipe and turned to Mouse, "Report your team's observance of Naruto these last two weeks."

"As ordered, a team of six were assigned to watch over the child Naruto. The child follows a routine of waking up at six thirty, where he gets dressed and goes downstairs to eat breakfast. After breakfast the child goes to the academy. The woman walks with one hand on the child and one on her brother. Once they arrive at the academy, she walks them into the school, or if it is time for them to go in, she has them walk in by themselves. Naruto is at the academy for six hours, where he learns the standard curriculum to train a shinobi. After the academy lets out the child and his friend go out and meet the woman, if she is not there, another teacher, Tamotsu, who was on the woman's genin team, comes out and will sit with them until the woman arrives. Then the child will go over to the woman's house, or to the Nara compound, where he will do homework and then play outside. If they are at the Nara compound they will also help with deer. After an hour or so of playing, the woman takes the child and her brother to a training ground where they all work on throwing skills and E-Rank jutsu, along with the basics for the Nara family jutsu for the brother. The child has a difficult with any technique requiring chakra control, such as cloning (bunshin no jutsu), however he does very will with cloak of invisibility.

"After approximately one point five hours, the woman, the child and her brother will head back to the woman's house where she prepares dinner. After dinner, the child takes a bath. After he takes a bath, the child will sit down and work on reading with the woman, while her brother takes his bath. Finally it is bedtime at seven, with lights out at seven thirty."

The Hokage nodded and took a deep inhale of his pipe. "That is his schedule, has there been anything that changed the schedule?"

Mouse nodded, "Nothing that affected the Naruto child. It was brought to our attention that the woman, Harumi had been in a few altercations about the child. She was able to hide this from the youngest brother and the child. However these altercations have affected the child in a positive manner in that other shinobi have been less prone to ignore the child and civilians have not gone out of their way to be cruel."

"What were these altercations?" Kakashi asked.

Shikaku smirked and answered for Mouse, "The first one that I heard about was when someone at the hospital heard Harumi-chan was watching Naruto-kun and was shocked to hear that she was watching "the demon brat."

Kakashi felt… angry. Angry at the person who called Naruto a demon brat, but that anger quickly turned to surprise as Shikaku continued.

"Well Harumi-chan was not pleased and yelled at the person, and from what I heard, she also threw some things. I also heard that she threw the individual, but the rumors were unclear as to if she threw the person out a window, or just through a door."

Mouse shook his head, "Harumi-chan's genin teammate was present at the hospital and reported that the woman yelled at the person, calling the person ignorant, pitiful, a fearmonger, asshole and bastard. She also threw scrolls, books, glass vials and just about anything else she could get her hands on the throw as she chased the person down the hall. Finally once the individual was backed into a corner the woman then pulled out a scroll and asked if the scroll was dangerous or not. The individual replied he could not answer without knowing the contents of the scroll. She nodded and said that if this scroll was filled with vials of poison, a poison so strong that it could kill everyone in the hospital, was the scroll dangerous. The individual agreed that the scroll was dangerous. The woman then replied, 'Wrong, the scroll is not dangerous simply because it contains something dangerous. It is only the contents that causes the danger.' She then started to walk away, continuing to call the individual names. Before the woman got too far away, the individual commented, 'I didn't expect a medical-nin to protect the demon brat, especially after caring for the people who were injured when the Kyūbi attack and probably lost someone in the attack.' The woman then turned around and kicked the individual through a window and shouted down at him, 'Go somewhere else to get your wounds looked at, you will find no help at the hospital today. I do not treat those who cause their own wounds through sheer stupidity.'"

Kakashi was shocked at what he heard, not only did Harumi attack a Konoha shinobi, but she also did it publicly, and said that the person she attacked would not get any healing for the damage she caused. Since she did this so publicly, everyone, shinobi and civilians knew about it. As a medical-nin she is bound to heal everyone, and she very publicly told everyone who insulted Naruto that she would not heal them, in fact she would attack them.

"Was Harumi in trouble for this?" Kakashi heard himself ask, "You said Naruto wasn't affected by this?"

"Shinobi are not going out of their way to ignore him and if Harumi is with him, they will greet him, but that is about as far as the shinobi are willing to go right now. However, the civilians have a slightly different approach, they have moved from being cruel to indifference. They include Harumi in this, so long as she is not looking at them. She was also reprimanded by the hospital head, and a note added to her record." Mouse answered.

Shikaku nodded, "Harumi-chan has stopped going to certain merchants, and my wife has also taken to avoiding those same merchants. I will not be surprised if all the Nara women follow their example. Harumi-chan is very well loved by our clan. It will also not surprise me if other shinobi start to notice the lack of patronage. The story will continue to grow as more people try to figure out why a shinobi who is known for her kindness to all is suddenly cold to people."

"What was the second altercation?" Hokage asked.

Shikaku shook his head, "I don't know about that one."

Mouse spoke, "This was in front of the Academy after the woman sent the child and her brother into class. One of the civilian parents asked 'how could anyone with half a brain or care for her siblings willingly expose said siblings to a demon.' The woman was asking in such a way that it was a concerned question, so Harumi answered, 'I am no more worried about exposing my siblings to Naruto than I am about exposing them to the life of a shinobi. If my siblings can learn to look beyond the preconceived notions of a person or situation, then it can help them survive a mission or fight.' Another parent asked 'How could being exposed to a demon do that?' Harumi responded, 'By looking beyond what people call a demon and seeing the little boy. It is a fairly easy exercise, especially since Naruto is such a joyful little boy.' One of the parents went to throw something at her, but Harumi was quickly able to deflect the object. She then proceeded to walk to the hospital, where she was given another warning from the hospital administrator about harming patients, refusing to treat patients and attacking a fellow shinobi."

Hokage nodded, "I will speak to the hospital administrator about Harumi-kun's behavior, I for one will not punish her for looking out for the welfare of Naruto, who is the future of Konoha."

Shikaku also nodded, "That would explain better the boycott on merchants. Harumi-chan is very loyal and since she has decided that Naruto is in her sphere of loyalty, she will continue to structure her life to show that loyalty. It will be interesting to see how many clans will follow her lead."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

"Harumi is well liked, some would say that she is loved by many people. There is not a single clan who has not had someone who went on missions with Harumi and been healed by her. She has also gone out of her way to help many of the elderly, those with small children or even those who have recently been injured. Harumi looks at people in need and uses her brain to figure out how to help them, with little to no thought of payment or repayment. She helps because it is the right thing to do. In fact it is a common complaint of Hideaki-kun because he is convinced she is going to end up getting hurt because of she will stop to help an old woman. If she is on mission and sees a need, she will remember and try to fulfill that need once she has completed the mission. She even sends herself close to chakra exhaustion more times than I can count trying to heal people."

Kakashi frowned again, "So people are treating Naruto better and Harumi worse?"

Hokage shook his head, "From what I have observed, people are not treating Naruto-kun with anything less than respect or indifference, however Harumi is now being treated with less welcome than she has had in the past, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all."

"I hate to be the one to state the obvious, but why don't we just ask Harumi-chan about her thoughts on how people are treating her?" Shikaku asked.

"Excellent idea, Shikaku," Hokage replied before raising his voice, "Genma! Summon Shimizu Harumi."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," was heard from behind the door.

"Mouse, Crow, tell your team well done. You are dismissed," Hokage waved them away as they disappeared in a flutter of green leaves. "Tenzō, Itachi, you are also dismissed." Instead of disappearing, these two crossed their right arm across their chests in salute then walked out the window. "I see you have corrupted Team Ro with your dislike of doors, Kakashi."

Kakashi shrugged, "I take no ownership in that."

Shikaku turned to Kakashi, "In case Harumi-chan hasn't said anything to you, you and Naruto are always welcome to the Nara compound. My wife says that Naruto is very helpful with the deer."

"I will keep that in mind," Kakashi replied. Fisting both hands in his pockets Kakashi sunk deeper into his usual slouching position.

Shikaku moved to sit in one of the chairs across from the Hokage, "My wife has been asking when you will come over to dinner, she nags and is concerned."

Hokage smiled, seeing a great opportunity, "If it isn't too inconvenient I will come over tonight, Kakashi and Harumi can also bring the children. I would like to see how Naruto is interacting with the Nara family, especially with Harumi."

Kakashi frowned, not that you could see it behind the mask, but still. "Harumi-san said something this morning about having her brother's team over for dinner tonight."

"Well then how about tomorrow then?" Shikaku replied. Already thinking of how he would tell his wife that they were having an impromptu dinner party with the Hokage and Hatake families. Maybe he could get Harumi-chan to break the news, Yoshino would be more forgiving oh her most precious sister's child.

"Or we could just ask Harumi-chan," Hokage rebutted.

Kakashi smirked, "That phrase is being said a lot recently, what is the world coming too when the leader of the Nara clan and the Hokage of Konoha have to ask a woman to make dinner plans."

Shikaku glared at the one eyed jōnin, "I do not know what the world is coming too, but it does mean that my house is a more peaceful one when I talk to the women of the house before making plans."

Hokage laughed as he took another deep breath on his pipe, "Pay no attention to Kakashi, Shikaku, he speaks like a man who has never lived with the wrath of a woman. If Naruto continues to spend time with Masahiro, then Kakashi will learn."

Shikaku laughed softly, "True enough. While Harumi-chan is more laid back, as you have heard, she does have a temper."

 **Time passes**

"So how did you manage to throw him through the glass, he is at least eighty pounds heavier than you," Genma could be heard through the door.

"I have been told that anger is very good at making one forget about things like weight limits," Harumi could be heard replying with a laugh.

Shortly after, a knock on the door before the door swung inward. "Harumi-san as requested Lord Hokage," Genma said as he walked in with Harumi following.

"Lord Hokage," Harumi bowed.

"Harumi-kun, it is good that you were able to come so quickly," Sarutobi smiled, "As I was listening to the report given to Kakashi-san about Naruto while Kakashi was gone, it occurred to us that you should also report what happened. Or at least what happened from your point of view."

"Of course Lord Hokage. Was there something specific you wanted me to report about? I don't want to waste anyone's time by telling you about something that was already reported."

"How about you start with the training you have been doing with Naruto and his progress and end with the altercations we have heard about," Sarutobi suggested.

Standing with her hands held loose at her sides, her weight shifting to her right leg, Harumi nodded, "After school the boys and I go to either my house or to the Nara compound, depending on if we have deer duty that day. The boys will work on their homework from the Academy, before they play outside for a little while. If we have deer duty, then they will play after we help to take care of the deer. Then we head over to a training ground, usually one at the Nara compound since that is the easiest to get too, but also the most secure. We then will work on whatever jutsu they have been learning at the Academy that day. Since in order to graduate, the students need to perform a random E-rank jutsu, we practice those the most. As they continue to grow, more techniques will be added, like with Masahiro and some of the shadow techniques of the Nara clan. However since Naruto seems to struggle with any jutsu that requires any type of control, I have also added a couple chakra control exercises, such as keeping a leaf on a part of the body. Naruto has gotten better at his control, but it is still not great. I think this is because he has such a huge chakra pool that he doesn't need to worry about rationing his chakra. However he does very well with any of the invisibility techniques. I let the boys direct the jutsus that we practice, because a little competition is healthy for a boy. After we leave the training ground we go to my house where I prepare a healthy and balanced dinner. After dinner, one of the boys heads to take a bath while the other stays with me and we read a book or talk about stuff that they didn't want the other to know they were struggling with. It was during one such time that Naruto told me that he was struggling with reading, so I found a book that might interest him and we would read the book together. Since my brother also loves bedtime stories, it was the perfect opportunity to help solve one problem without causing Naruto any embarrassment." Harumi paused and looked at Kakashi.

"I am aware of the failings of the orphanage and the schools in this instance," Kakashi said.

"The boys would go to bed after their stories, where they could continue to read or talk quietly for half an hour before I would come back up and turn off the lights. Naruto would spend most of that time talking about his day or the boys would use that time to plan their next prank. I would go up and ensure the 'do not enter' seal was active on the window before turning the lights off." Harumi took a deep breath and continued, "As for the altercations, the first was between myself and a fellow shinobi at the hospital. I took offense to something he said and I made my displeasure known. The second altercation came between myself and some civilian parents from the Academy. They again said something that I didn't like and I gently corrected their misconceptions." Harumi shrugged.

"Offense?" Shikaku repeated.

"Gently corrected?" Kakashi said.

Harumi nodded, "No lasting harm was done to either party and they will all think twice before they say something like that again."

"So what about the merchant boycott?" Shikaku asked.

"The merchant boycott?" Harumi repeated.

"Yes, the reason you don't go into certain shops anymore."

"Ah, yes, that." Harumi shifted slightly.

Kakashi followed her movement with his eyes, only to see a slight pink color spreading across her cheeks. Briefly wondering if it was from anger or embarrassment, he focused on her words once again.

"Well you see it is not really because of anything that was said while Kakashi was gone, but more about that I found the bad things people had done prior to Naruto being adapted by Kakashi. It seems that there are a number of merchants who either refused to serve Naruto or they would increase the prices of the things he needed to the point where he barely had money for other things, like food or clothes." While Harumi had been told about this prior to watching Naruto while Kakashi was gone, however she didn't know if the Hokage knew and decided it was a good time to inform him.

"So you have taken it upon yourself you punish those merchants?" the Hokage asked.

"Not on purpose, you see one afternoon, I took both boys with me to do a little grocery shopping, because Naruto eats a lot of food, and I wanted to make sure he had plenty of healthy snacks. So either way, we were shopping and I got stopped by one of my parent's old friends. Since I knew she would keep me there for a while, I sent the boys ahead of me to go and pick out some snack type foods. Well a few minutes later Masahiro came running up to me and told me that someone was being mean to Naruto. Of course, I ran down to see what was going on, I wasn't too worried because I was told that ANBU would be watching over Naruto. Anyway, I went into the store and the owner was yelling at Naruto to get out of the store, so I walked over and asked what the problem was. When I was informed that the owner does not cater to Naruto's kind, I quickly apologized to Naruto for asking him to come to this horrible establishment and we promptly walked out. Before resuming our shopping, I made Naruto point out all the stores where he got similar treatment and we didn't go shopping there. And that is why I shop in the places I shop in." Harumi finished.

"So how did your aunt figure this out?"

"Oh that is easy, I had a morning off of the hospital, so we went shopping. I needed to get Masahiro and Naruto some new shirts and she offered to help. But anyway, Yoshino-oba asked me why I was avoiding certain stores and I explained the situation to her. She was justifiably upset about how Naruto was very unfairly treated and made sure to let everyone know very loudly just how unhappy she was." Harumi continued smugly, "I am sure by now the rest of the Nara woman have heard the story and will quickly follow Oba's example."

Kakashi turned to the Hokage, "Why wasn't that altercation mentioned in the report?"

"I do not know, Kakashi, when we are through here, go and ask the ANBU in charge why this was not reported."

"Yes, sir." Looking over at Harumi, "Why would the Nara women follow your aunt's example?"

"Easy, they like Naruto as much as Oba does. He is a loveable child and he actually likes working with the deer, which is better than some of my cousins. They will treat this situation the same as they would if someone mistreated one of my cousins." Harumi shrugged, "It is just our way."

Kakashi looked over at Shikaku and raised his visible eyebrow.

Shikaku shrugged, "It sounds like something my wife would say, but meh, who can understand women?"

Harumi glared at Shikaku who smiled at her.

"Why wasn't I made aware of how people were treating Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.

Harumi glanced from the Hokage to Kakashi and back. Kakashi wasn't any help when he shrugged. "I don't know, but knowing Naruto and his" she paused looking for the best word, "lack of understanding about how shopping should work, I believe that Naruto just didn't know that he was being mistreated or overcharged for goods."

"That is not entirely true, Naruto does know that most people don't get thrown out of shops, but he figured out which ones will not throw him out very quickly," Kakashi added his thoughts. "However while he doesn't understand where the anger and hatred comes from, he does understand that it is just affecting him, so he will not put up a fuss."

Harumi smiled sadly, "Well he will put up a fuss now, the merchant that I caught yelling at Naruto, said something to Masahiro as we were leaving, and Naruto got mad, he didn't say anything at that moment, but I did overhear the beginning of another prank being planned that night. I am waiting to see what they do."

"Speaking of plans, Harumi-kun. Your uncle has invited myself, Kakashi and Naruto all over to the Nara compound for an impromptu dinner party with you and your siblings as well. Would tonight be a good time for you? I heard you were planning on having some company and we can change the date if needed," Hokage said.

Harumi tilted her head to the side for a minute while she quickly dissected this latest bit of information. Her uncle invited the Hokage, Kakashi and Naruto over to the compound for dinner, that sounded like something her aunt would request. However her family was also invited, which meant that this had something to do with Naruto's friendship with Masahiro. So either the Hokage knew something about this friendship that she didn't, or he wanted to see it in action. The later was the more plausible explanation due to the fact Naruto calls the Hokage 'Jiji' and the Hokage has shown an interest in Naruto's well being. So it was with this in mind that Harumi smiled, "Tonight will be fine, Lord Hokage. I will send word to my brother and his teammates to meet us at the Nara compound, I can also see about leaving the hospital a little early to help Yoshino-oba prepare the meal." Glancing over at Shikaku, Harumi continued, "Would you like me to inform Oba about the party?"

Shikaku smiled, "If you have time too, I am really busy right now, especially with all of these meetings."

"Of course Ojisan, I can do that as soon as we are done here." Turning to look at Kakashi, "Do you mind still picking up the boys? That way I can get my cooking done without them under foot, I can meet you at your apartment and we can all walk over to the compound together?"

"Sure," Kakashi replied.

Harumi smiled, "Great! If there is nothing else, Hokage, it seems I have a party to help set up." Sarutobi nodded and Harumi gave a quick salute, turned around and walked out the door. As soon as she was out of the tower, she jumped onto the roof and started to run and jump to catch her Aunt and inform her of the dinner party. As she ran, Harumi did a quick inventory check of what she had available at her house to contribute for the meal. Jumping down in front of the gate to the compound, Harumi quickly rushed to the main house.

"Yoshino-oba!" Harumi called as she entered the house. "Yoshino-oba, are you home?" Harumi called again, after slipping her shoes off and walking towards the kitchen.

Yoshino met Harumi in the kitchen, having just come in from the back door. "Harumi-chan! What a surprise to see you. Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital? Did something happen?" Looking at her niece, Yoshino frowned, "What are you wearing?"

Harumi laughed and gave Yoshino a hug, ignoring the questions being thrown at her, "Hello Oba-chan! It is good to see you too. I have a request for you, well Shikaku-oji is the one who suggested it."

"What did my husband do this time?"

"We are to have a small dinner party here tonight with the Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, Naruto, my siblings and Hideaki's chūnin team."

"A 'small dinner party'?" Yoshino repeated.

"That is how Lord Hokage described it," Harumi offered.

"What time is this dinner party supposed to be?"

"We get to figure that out, Oba. I have some fresh pork at home, since I was planning on having Hideaki's team over tonight and I was going to make some gyoza with it. I also have a large pot of dashi that I made this morning to use for miso soup," Harumi told Yoshino. "I also have cucumbers and daikon for vegetables."

"So pork and cabbage gyoza with dipping sauce, miso soup, rice, a cucumber and daikon salad which I can make now and chill until it is time to eat," Yoshino mused, "Yes I think this will work. I will run over to find a fresh fish to grill and dinner should be complete."

"What about dessert?"

"I still have some of the sweets we made a couple weeks ago, I can also go and see if one of the shops has some mochi and go to one of the tea shops and pick up some nice green tea and more sake. I think this will work," Yoshino continued. "Will you be able to make the gyoza?"

"I will be able too, along with the miso soup. You can pick up the cucumbers and daikon while you are out. You know the seals."

"Okay, then lets say dinner at seven with people showing up around six?"

"I will let everyone know," Harumi smiled and gave Yoshino another hug. "You are the best oba-chan ever."

Yoshino laughed, "Your mother used to say the same thing when we were little, when she got her way."

Harumi laughed as she put her shoes on, "If it works, why change it? I will go and tell oji-san, Hide-kun and Mai-kun as well. I will bring Hatake-san and Naruto-kun with me since I will be picking up Naruto after school."

"Of course," Yoshino walked Harumi out the door. Right before Harumi walked out of sight she called, "And when you get here we can talk about why you are wearing the clothes you haven't worn since you started working at the hospital full time."

Harumi waved a hand to show she had heard and once she had cleared the gates of the compound jumped to the nearest rooftop and took off back towards the tower to talk to oji-san. She would send a message to Hideaki and Maiko about the change of plans before she left work. There was always someone who came into the hospital who knew them.

 **AN: Sorry for the extra long chapter? I hope this chapter was worth the wait, I will say it is refreshing to go back to the relatively simple land of Konoha.  
**

 **The plot thickens. Who is the rogue Uchiha? I am sure everyone has a good guess.**

 **Thank you Savage Kill, AmericanNidiot (Love the name btw) sultryvoice and His Rose Bud 125 for your kind reviews.**

 **I hope to go back to my every two weeks of updating, but we will have to see, the holidays are upon us and life tends to get crazy.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Standard "I don't own" Disclaimer. You know the drill.**

"Mouse," Kakashi called out, as he walked into ANBU headquarters, seeing the familiar mask dart into one of the practice rooms hidden deep beneath the mountain.

"Yes?" Mouse called out, "Come in Wolf, I'm just going to do some stretches."

Kakashi walked into the practice room, his ANBU mask firmly in place. Mouse was laying on the floor with his hands in front of him, his mask moved to the side of his face.

"What can I do for you?" Mouse asked.

"I was told about an incident between Naruto and a shopkeeper while I was gone. I want to know why ANBU didn't step in while he was being yelled at?"

Mouse sat up, "I don't know, but I will find out who was on duty and find out."

"Thank you," Kakashi replied, "And maybe let me in on that conversation."

Mouse grinned, "We will have to see what the answer is first. I would hate for you to scare a rookie just because he made a mistake."

Kakashi nodded, "But if it is a seasoned shinobi?"

Mouse shrugged, "Then I guess you two will get that talk."

"Good," looking around, Kakashi rapidly thought about what to say next.

"So you and Harumi-chan, huh?" Mouse said.

"What do you mean?"

"I hear that you two spend a lot of time together," Mouse shrugged, "I was wondering what that is about."

"Why should it matter to you?" Kakashi asked, a hint of steel in his normally lazy voice.

Mouse shrugged again, "I was one of her genin teammates and still a close friend. We look out for each other, especially since her father is gone."

"We spend time together because she is a good influence on Naruto. Her whole family seems to have taken him in. Since I watch over Naruto, I spend time with her."

"I also heard that she covered for you after she was injured, by you." The last word was hissed through clenched teeth.

"Did you ask her about it?" Kakashi shot back.

"I did."

"What did she say?"

"It was an accident. But Hatake Kakashi does not accidentally inflict injury to someone. Everything you do is deliberate."

Kakashi shrugged, "If Harumi says it was an accident, who am I to doubt her? After all she was the one who was injured, so she would know."

Mouse slowly stood up, "You are ANBU, you don't have accidents."

Holding his hands out to his sides, "Even if it wasn't an accident, what are you going to do? Harumi believes it was, and in fact has stated such in front of Lord Hokage. If you were to make a fuss, then her word would be called into question. If you are such a good friend, are you willing to have her ability to assess a situation being doubted all the time?"

"No," Mouse ground out, "However I expect that there won't be any more accidents in the future?"

Kakashi shrugged, "Harumi is teaching academy children how to be shinobi, I am sure there will be more accidents in the future. However I will do my best to ensure that I'm not the cause of them."

"See that you aren't," Mouse stood up and moved towards the door, which Kakashi was standing in front of still. Staring at Kakashi, Mouse stood a few steps away.

After a couple seconds of this stare down, Kakashi shifted to the right, leaving just enough room for Mouse to slide through the door. Kakashi followed him, moving further into the mountain. Pulling out his bright orange book, he allowed his feet to take him through the familiar halls towards a very familiar room.

Reaching a hand out to knock, Kakashi wasn't surprised when the door opened before his hand could make contact.

"Come in, Kakashi," Tenzō growled behind his mask.

"Don't mind if I do, Tenzō," Kakashi walked in and closed the door behind him. Placing his book away, he nodded, "And hello Itachi, are you two having a little play date without me?"

Itachi snickered, "Play date? Is that a word you learned from Harumi-san?"

Kakashi grinned, "Of course, I am told it is what happens when two young people get together."

"Hey!" Tenzō squeaked, "I'm not that much younger than you!"

Kakashi turned a lazy eye over in Tenzō's direction, "But you are still younger."

Before the two older ANBU could get into another fight over age, Itachi quickly asked, "Why are you here, taichou?"

"I came to see what happened while we were on our mission, and maybe to pass along some information."

Tenzō nodded, "All has been pretty quiet around here. Suna has gotten bolder in their choice of spies. The last couple spies they have sent look surprisingly like a certain medic. It is only a matter of time before the other Villages do the same."

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"It seems that your interest in Harumi has caused a stir in the world. Hatake Kakashi the one who has no interest in people, is suddenly interested in a lowly medic. You have caused quiet a stir."

Itachi nodded, "Even my father commented on your sudden interest. He is worried that you two will have a child and the child will have a Sharingan, of course. But he still commented on it, which should tell you the talk of the Village."

Kakashi sighed, "I am just trying to do what is best for Naruto. Being around the Shimizu family has been good for him. They close around him and create a wall of safety that he needs. From what I have heard, Naruto isn't in nearly as much trouble as he has been in the past. He is making friends and is happy."

Itachi nodded, "It is good for a young boy to have friends. Do you think Harumi-san would mind having one more boy to train?"

Kakashi's eyes focused on Itachi, "Who did you have in mind?"

"My younger brother. He is about the same age as Naruto, but lacks ties to the Village. He is close to our clan, but that is about it."

Kakashi nodded, "I don't see her objecting to the idea, but it is something you will have to bring up yourself."

Itachi nodded, "Thank you taichou, I will do that."

"Still worried about your clan rebelling?" Tenzō asked.

Itachi nodded, "The talk is getting worse and my clan is getting restless. I am afraid of what will happen if Lord Hokage doesn't think of something soon."

Tenzō and Kakashi glanced at each other. Kakashi tipped his head down and Tenzō nodded.

"What ever you need from us, don't hesitate to ask, Itachi," Tenzō said.

"Thank you, I will."

"So, all we know is that a person or persons with a Sharingan was part of the attack on Naruto that almost took his life," Kakashi leaned against the door and casually placed a privacy seal on the door. "We know that there is a man claiming to be an Uchiha recruiting missing-nin and civilians to his cause."

"Do you know that the cause is?"

Itachi and Kakashi shook their heads.

Tenzō frowned, "Then how do we know what to look for?"

Kakashi shrugged, "Just keep an ear out for anything and everything, just like always."

Tenzō nodded, "Of course Kakashi, but what are you going to do in the mean time?"

Kakashi gave a huge sigh, "Apparently, I'm going to a family dinner with the head Nara clan family and the Hokage."

Tenzō and Itachi shared a grin before Tenzō replied, "I will have to see who is on Lord Hokage's detail and see if I can trade."

Kakashi glared at him, "Why would you do that?"

"To see you have to interact like a human for once," Tenzō laughed, "And to see how you interact as a family with Naruto."

Kakashi reached out a hand and whacked Tenzō in the back of his head.

"What was that for?" he screeched rubbing the back of his head.

"Just testing your reflexes," Kakashi replied. Then walking towards the window he stuck his head out, "Let me know if you hear anything else."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Kakashi found himself following Naruto, Masahiro and Harumi over to the Nara compound. Naruto and Masahiro were excited to see Shikamaru again and were talking about all of the fun things they could do.

"Are Hideaki and Maiko meeting us at Oba-chan's house?" Masahiro asked abruptly turning to face Harumi.

"Of course, I gave them the message and Hikeaki's team is also coming over."

"Hurray!" Masahiro yelled, "A party!"

Harumi smiled as she carried a picnic basket full of food on one arm. "Yes, it is a party, which means you do not get to forget your manners."

"Yes Nee-chan," Masahiro replied.

Glancing at Naruto, Harumi smiled, "I am excited that you can introduce Kakashi-san to Shikamaru and my cousins, Naru-kun."

"Oh yeah, that is awesome!" Naruto whooped as he jumped around.

"Calm down Naruto, or you will be dirty before we even get there, and you will need another bath," Kakashi cautioned.

Harumi laughed at the horrified look on Naruto's face. "Same for you Masahiro!"

A few minutes later they came to the gates of the Nara compound. Harumi gently pulsed her chakra to disable the seals and to let her family know that they are here. Walking through the gates and into the small court yard, they were met by a small group of children ranging from ages two through about eight or nine. A shout came from the group when they saw who was walking in, "Masahiro! Naruto!"

Kakashi was shocked at how many people were excited to see Naruto, this was not something that happened in his experience. Most people avoided him, or just ignored him, as Kakashi witnessed firsthand at the first day of school after Naruto's attack. Granted, Naruto tried to force people to see him with pranks and other sorts of harmless fun, however while people would see Naruto, they would associate his bad behavior with the nine tails. But here in the Nara compound, kids of all ages were excited to see him. In fact, Kakashi watched as Harumi tried to wade through the crowd of children with Naruto and Masahiro in her wake, they were watching for all of them.

"Children! Masahiro and Naruto can play with you, but only after we say hello to Shikaku-oji and Yoshino-oba, alright. So, the faster you let us through, the faster they can come out and play!" Harumi spoke, her voice carrying over the raised voices of the children.

Kakashi decided to skirt around the group and meet Harumi on the other side. She was almost there when a small child grabbed a hold of her leg and Kakashi watched as Harumi started to fall.

"Kakashi, catch!" Harumi yelled, gently tossing the picnic basket towards Kakashi as she grabbed the small child and quickly tucked into a roll, landing on her back with the small child on her stomach. With a quick glance to make sure that the kid was unharmed, Harumi quickly put the kid on her feet and then stood up. Kneeling down Harumi looked her cousin in the eye, "You need to be careful sweetie, I could have hurt you or worse, damaged the food." To which the toddler looked horrified. Harumi patted the toddler on her head, stood up and dusted herself off as she walked over to where Kakashi was holding the basket, "Nice catch, Kakashi-san."

"Just Kakashi, Harumi-san please." Kakashi replied. "And I would be a poor excuse for a shinobi if I couldn't catch a basket of food."

Harumi laughed, "Well I suppose that is true, and please, it is Harumi." Taking the basket, the small group was finally able to walk up to the front door of the clan head's house.

Before Harumi could pulse her chakra again, Shikaku opened the front door. Taking in the slightly disheveled appearance of Harumi and the group of children behind them, he concluded that they had a welcoming party. However, curtesy dictated that he greet his guests before he could do anything else. Shikaku smiled as he watched Harumi gently push down on Naruto's shoulder and whisper "Bow." Yoshino arrived just in time to see Kakashi also bow at Harumi's prompt.

"Shikaku-oji, Yoshino-oba, may I present to you two of our guests for the evening, Hatake-san and his ward Naruto. Kakashi, Naru-kun, may I present to you Nara Shikaku and Nara Yoshino," Harumi stated formally.

"Welcome Hatake-san and Naruto, to our home," Shikaku replied.

"You honor us with your invitation," Kakashi replied, straightening from his bow, he glanced over at Naruto to see that Harumi still had her hand on his shoulder, directing him to stand also.

Yoshino smiled, "I will not keep the children from playing, so Masa-kun, Naruto-kun, off you go, try not to get too dirty. Shikamaru should be around here somewhere, see if you can drag him over to the group to play Masahiro."

"Yes oba-chan," Masahiro replied, pulling Naruto with him as he ran towards a hill where Shikamaru liked to watch clouds.

"Now Shikaku and Kakashi, go and play a game of shogi or something while we wait for the Hokage. Keep an ear out for Hideaki and his team, I am sure Hide-kun will want a rematch on his shogi game with you at some point," Yoshino directed with a wave of her hand towards the front room. "Harumi-chan, come with me and we can finish the dinner preparations."

Harumi laughed, "Of course oba-chan," leaning closer to Kakashi she whispered, "If you get overwhelmed just tell oji-san that you need to check on Naruto, he can show you a quiet place for your thoughts where you can watch Naruto without him seeing you."

Kakashi just nodded as Harumi's thoughtfulness shocked him speechless. Not only did she recognize that he might not be comfortable in a large group, but she also arranged for him to be able to get away from the crowd without having to offend anyone. Kakashi blinked as she disappeared into the house, leaving Kakashi staring at the open door. Turning his gaze to Shikaku, Kakashi swallowed as he caught the speculative look on the Nara's face. Not sure what to do with that situation, but willing to try for Naruto's sake and because the Hokage basically ordered him too, Kakashi asked, "So shogi?"

 **AN: Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is able to have a wonder holiday, no matter what you celebrate during this season.**

 **So what do you think of Kakashi's interaction with Mouse? How about Tenzo and Itachi? I did promise more Kakashi interactions, so this is the first major set, where Kakashi isn't 'on mission' but just normal interactions.**

 **The dinner party is about to begin, any thoughts as to what you think will happen?**

 **His Rose Bud 125: Yes, she will run herself ragged. It is something Harumi's family is constantly worried about. I'm hopeful that she will listen to her family, but she is a very stubborn woman, so who knows :)**

 **AmericanNidiot: Thank you, I tried to keep her realistic, but also kinda BA since you know, she is dealing with Kakashi and Naruto on a daily basis.**

 **Most Bodacious: Thank you for your kind words, I also find the lack of Kakashi development disappointing. But then again if I found it great, then this fic probably would never have been born lol**

 **kayna96: I hope you are willing to wait just a little bit until the whole crew gets together, I have one more chapter before the actual dinner begins. I also hope you enjoyed this look into Kakashi's friendships with his old teammates.**

 **CrystalVixen93: I hope this was worth the wait. I also hope you continue to enjoy the story.**


	14. Chapter 14

***Insert witty disclaimer***

* * *

In the kitchen Harumi and Yoshino were busy finishing the preparation for dinner. Harumi was setting the miso soup onto the stove and warming it up, while putting the gyoza into a pan to warm them up with a quick fry. Yoshino was busy seasoning the fish for the grill when she looked over at her niece and asked, "So your clothes?"

Harumi looked up from the pot of soup, "I couldn't sleep last night, so I grabbed some comfortable clothes to wear. Since I didn't want to turn the lights on, this is what I grabbed," Harumi gestured to her clothing, "that is all. I am not trying to recapture my youth or some other such nonsense, I was just trying to be comfortable."

"Just making sure you were not making a statement that you wanted to go back on full time active duty," Yoshino replied.

Harumi stopped chopping vegetables and stared at her, "What? Why would I do that?"

Yoshino shrugged, "Just one theory that was put out there, Harumi-chan. You stopped wearing that outfit when you started working at the hospital full time, it is not a huge leap to think the return of the outfit meant the return of full time mission duty."

Harumi shrugged, "I won't think about full time missions until Masahiro is old enough to take care of himself, besides I am not sure the hospital is ready to let go of me quiet yet."

Yoshino laughed, "That is true, the hospital loves having as many Nara's on hand as possible."

Before Harumi could answer, Maiko walked into the kitchen, "Hideaki is on his way with his team, he said they should be here in about thirty minutes or so."

"Wonderful, that gives you and your sister just enough time to finish setting the table. I have some fresh flowers from the Yamanaka flower shop for you to arrange. With the Hokage coming, I want you girls to use the good plates," Yoshino ordered.

"Yes, oba-chan," the two younger women replied. Making sure that the soup was turned down so it wouldn't boil over, Harumi followed her younger sister into the dinning area. The table already had a dark bamboo table runner down the center with the white and black dishes stacked on the side.

"Lets get the flowers arranged and placed down the middle, then we can set the dishes around them," Harumi suggested.

Maiko nodded as she took three clear glass vases and brought them over to the flowers. Separating the flowers into groups of five of similar colors, she began to cut the flower stems to matching lengths and placed them inside the vase, once the flowers were arranged, Maiko added some water and placed the three vases on the table, fussing to ensure there was enough space between the flowers for the food.

While Maiko fussed with the final placement of the flowers, Harumi sat down on one of the pillows and started to play with the place setting. Centering the largest black plate, she then set a white bowl with a small black design on top of the plate. A smaller white rectangular dish was placed to the right of the bowl. A small tea cup was on the top right corner of the entire place setting. A glass for water was place next to the tea cup along with a small glass for sake. The final touches were the chopsticks set on top of the bowl, a soup spoon placed between the bowl and the rectangle dish and a napkin rolled and set to the right of the whole place setting. Standing up she looked over at Maiko and asked, "What do you think?"

Maiko came over and scrutinized the arrangement, the setting was a simplistic one, but the clean lines and simple black and white colors elevated it from simple to elegant. All in all, the setting conveyed an informal feeling, with elements of formal. Such as one would want when dining with friends and family. "Oba-chan!" Maiko called, "How formal did you want to table with Hokage coming?"

Yoshino walked to the doorway of the dinning area and looked at the table, "I think that is perfect, girls."

Harumi and Maiko smiled, having passed yet another test given to them by their aunt, it was almost as if she was making sure they kept up on their kunoichi lessons, even after graduating the academy. Harumi was also reminded of the times her mother would also give these types of tests, only her mother said it was in preparation for missions and being the matriarch of her own house.

"Maiko, go and play with your cousins for a little bit, try not to get to dirty. While Harumi finishes helping me with dinner," Yoshino commanded.

"Yes, oba-chan," came the reply. Harumi ruffled Maiko's hair as she passed, "Check up on Masahiro and Naruto too please," she asked.

"Of course nee-chan," the younger woman replied with a laugh before rushing through to the front door.

Harumi quickly walked back into the kitchen where she saw some tofu and seaweed on the counter ready to be added to the soup. "When did you want me to add the seaweed and tofu?"

"You can add them now, did you want any other vegetables in there?"

"I don't know, I already made soup with eggplant this morning and I am sure that Masahiro and Naruto will not be happy with eggplant again," pausing she considered, "maybe some green onions to add some crunch to the soup."

Yoshino smiled and nodded, "Then chop the green onions. Leave some of the dark green parts and we can top the fish before we serve it."

"Mm," Harumi replied.

"Now back to our original discussion about your clothes, Harumi, you do not need to change the way you dress because you are working at the hospital full time. I didn't say anything when you first made this change because you were mourning your parents' death. It is not unusual for you to make a few changes."

"Oba-chan, I told you before that I took off the jacket because it gets too hot under my white medical jacket, also the hood makes lumps," Harumi laughed a little. "I didn't change my clothes too much, I just put on a longer shirt and took off the jacket. Why is that such a big deal?"

"Because not only did your clothes change, but your personality changed too!"

"How so?"

"You stopped smiling as much, you became focused on your medical studies to the point where you were losing sleep and weight. We are not like the Akamichi clan where we can afford to lose weight, Harumi. You grew more and more like your kaa-san, serious and focused on your goals. However these past few weeks with Naruto I have seen more of the young woman when your parents were alive."

Harumi froze as Yoshino spoke, her knife poised above the tofu. Very softly she put the knife down and faced her aunt, "Did you ever think that the reason I was changing was because I was growing up, oba-chan? Did it occur to you that I would _have to_ change when I became the guardian of my siblings when I was fourteen? That the reason I studied so hard was so that I could catch up to the other nurses and doctors who were never on an active team? That I was having trouble getting people to see me as something other than an upstart because I am a Nara in the hospital? That I changed my clothes to show that I was trying to be seen as a medical-nin and not just someone playing at it?" Harumi's voice stayed even, which was worse than if she started to yell. "Yes I mourn for my parents, that they were not able to see me achieve jōnin status, or see Hideaki grow from genin to chūnin, or to see Maiko graduate the academy? I will continue to mourn for my parents during every time there is a huge event in my life. I will be sad when Masahiro forgets what kaa-san sounded like or that she would always read him a story right before bedtime. It will tear my heart out when Masahiro forgets that tou-san was the first person to put a kunai into his little hand. But all of that doesn't matter, we are shinobi. We live, we serve, we die. It is our way of life." Harumi took a deep breath trying to get her emotions under control as her voice cracked with the hidden emotion. "If you will excuse me, oba-chan I need to get some air." Not waiting for an answer, Harumi ran out the back door and leapt onto the roof of the nearest building.

Yoshino stared at the door where her niece just ran from, however she was not surprised at all when Shikaku spoke from behind her, "What did you do woman?" Turning to face she gave him an innocent look.

"What do you mean?"

"Kakashi and I felt the chakra surge from across the house, since it came from this direction, I felt it prudent to make sure you and your beloved niece were fine. Since Harumi is not here and you are looking guilty, it does not take a genius to figure out that something happened."

"I just addressed how her clothing and personality have been changing back to what it was when her parents were alive."

Shikaku sighed, "Did you imply that you didn't like the changes she has made in the past?"

 **AN: Surprise! This is a belated Christmas present chapter, short and sweet with family drama. Just like the holidays :) I hope you enjoy.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Standard Disclaimer, I don't own Naruto or the characters, just Harumi and her family.**

After Shikaku ran out of room, Kakashi walked slowly out of the house and was able to find Harumi quickly on the roof of the house next door. Glancing at her, he saw her looking out over the court yard where the children were playing. Not sure what to do, Kakashi jumped up and stood near to where she was. "Yo," he called to ensure that she knew he was there. Harumi glanced at him quickly before facing the court yard again but not before he saw the tears on her cheeks. Kakashi slowly lowered himself to the roof near her and watched the kids play in the court yard. "Everything okay?"

Harumi glanced at him again, grateful that Kakashi was not looking at her, "It is fine, my oba-chan has a tendency to speak her mind when it comes to those she loves, oji-san will calm her down and everything will go back to normal."

"Did she…" Kakashi started to ask, but quickly changed his mind when Harumi glared at him. "I will not ask if she said something to hurt you, since it is obvious something did, do instead I will ask is there something I can do to help?"

Harumi turned to face Kakashi, "Thank you for asking, but this is something that oba-chan and I need to work out."

Kakashi frowned and still not knowing what to say, he looked over and saw Hideaki and two other chūnin arrive. Getting an idea, he quickly jumped down and walked over to Hideaki and whispered, "Harumi is upset, but she doesn't want anyone to know. Do you think a game would help?"

Hideaki glanced up at where Harumi was sitting and glanced at the door where he could see Shikaku-oji standing, very quickly he understood that Yoshino-oba said something that set Harumi off. A harmless game with the cousins would do a lot to cheer Harumi up before dinner. "How much time do we have?" he whispered to Kakashi.

"Just over twenty minutes," he answered.

Hideaki nodded and glanced at his team, "Hey, Emi-chan, could you run over to the fields and find Maiko and bring her and the cousins she is with back up here, we are going to play a quick game."

Kakashi watched as the only woman nodded and quickly ran in the direction of the fields in front of the forest. Then Hideaki looked over at the remaining chūnin and grinned, "Should we make it rain?"

The chūnin shuddered, "Sure, if you want Harumi-nee-chan to skin you alive with the resulting mud."

Hideaki grinned more, "True, so how about some bubbles, you know like water balloons?"

The chūnin nodded and Hideaki grinned before pointing to Harumi and yelling, "Hey cousins! Harumi-chan is sitting up there all by herself, I say we make her play too!"

Harumi stood up before Hideaki had finished but before she could do anything she heard, "Shadow possession jutsu complete" from behind her.

"Maiko?! What are you doing?" Harumi asked, torn between outrage and pride that her sister had managed to sneak up on her.

"Hideaki said you are going to play, so play you will," Maiko laughed. Slowly she walked over to the edge of the roof and smiled, "Time to go down and play nee-chan."

* * *

Lord Hokage walked through the gates to the Nara compound and was greeted to the sight of was war. Granted, it was between Harumi and an entire group of young children, but it was a war nonetheless. Harumi was dodging balloons made from water being thrown by a team of chūnin, Naruto, and a couple other children. Harumi was successfully dodging all the balloons all while laughing. Sarutobi was very happy to see the young Naruto so happy and included in the game.

"Hello Lord Hokage," Kakashi called from a safe distance from the war, "I'll let Nara-sama know you have arrived."

"No need, Kakashi," Shikaku said from the open door, "Welcome to my home, Lord Hokage. My wife has prepared a small feast in your honor. Let's go inside out of the sun and talk before dinner."

Lord Hokage smiled and quickly walked around the group, nodding to Harumi when she lifted her hand to wave. His ANBU guards had dispersed to points around the compound, just to keep everyone safe.

After greeting the Hokage arrived, Shikaku took Sarutobi and Kakashi back into the front room where the shogi board was still set up, this time though, Shikaku walked over and opened the windows so that the Hokage and Kakashi could watch the children out front. Shikaku laughed softly as he watched Naruto, Masahiro and Shikamaru gang up on Hideaki, trying to get him onto the ground. It seemed the game had changed, now it was the pre-academy and academy children versus the academy graduates. And the academy children were winning, through sheer numbers. Harumi was also suspiciously out of sight.

"Is this normal?" Kakashi asked watching as all the kids would look at Shikamaru before changing tactics.

Shikaku nodded, "It is not normally this crazy, but it seems that everyone has taken advantage of Hideaki-kun's team being here, more of the older ones to beat."

"Hideaki and his team seem to be very gentle with the children," Hokage observed.

Again, Shikaku nodded, "You will also notice that none of the children are trying to do any real damage, no one wants anyone else to get hurt or to get too dirty, if only to spare others from the wrath of Yoshino."

"Where is Harumi-san?" Hokage asked.

"Probably off with the deer for a little bit," Shikaku responded, "She needed a little break from all of the kids for a minute."

Kakashi was a very well-trained ninja, which meant that nothing showed his surprise at the lie that Shikaku just told. Then again, it was not information that the Hokage needed to know, as Harumi said, it was a family problem. However, he didn't think too much about it because it was only a moment before Harumi stood in front of the stairs and called out, "Clean up everyone, Yoshino-oba says dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."

Hokage watched in slight awe as all the younger children scrambled up from the ground and scattered to different houses, while the Shimizu family and Naruto all trudged up the stairs behind Harumi. With his mouth slightly opened in shock, Sarutobi watched as Naruto and Masahiro jumped at Harumi and hung onto her legs. Peeling two sets of arms off her, Harumi knelt down and gave both boys her attention as they talked about how they almost took down Hideaki. Shikamaru, in the arms of Maiko sighed and Sarutobi could hear the boy mutter "troublesome" as his cousins all laughed.

"Go wash up boys," Harumi repeated, "I will not have you showing up all dirty to Yoshino-oba's table." Ruffling the hair of the two boys, she gently pushed them to the direction Maiko was heading with Shikamaru. The two boys took off following at a run and laughing the whole time.

Watching Naruto acting like a regular boy, Sarutobi was struck by the differences in the boy. While Naruto had always been a smiling child, always pulling some prank and avoiding ANBU, this was a different sort of happiness, this one was a happiness that was shared by those around him. A happiness that was founded in contentment and knowing that someone was happy, just because you were there.

"Thank you, Shikaku-san, Kakashi-san for giving this to Naruto," Sarutobi whispered, gratitude making his voice crack a little.

Kakashi looked over at the Hokage confused, "Sir?"

"You have given him a safe place, friends and a family. Things that I couldn't. Thank you."

Not knowing what to do, Kakashi nodded. Kakashi gave a small sigh of relief when there was a polite knock on the door, "Shikaku-oji, dinner is ready," came Hideaki's voice on the other side.

"Coming, Hide-kun," came the reply.

The three men slowly stood up and walked over to the dinning area, where Harumi was busy with Maiko and Yoshino putting the food on the table. Shikaku sat down in his usual spot and waved to the other cushions, "Sit where ever you wish. There are enough adults to keep the children in line."

Harumi laughed, "You only say that because you have not tried to get Naruto or Masahiro to eat green vegetables."

"Maa," Kakashi interrupted, "I have found that hanging anyone upside down by their toes is a great way to get someone to agree to anything."

Harumi and Maiko laughed harder. "I will have to keep that in mind, Kakashi-san for the next time I make a salad for lunch," Harumi replied between bouts of laughter.

"Sit down, everyone!" Yoshino interrupted, causing all the children to hurry and get a spot, while Hideaki and his team stood off to the side and wait. "Hideaki, you and your team can take the cushions over there," she waved to the three empty spots at the far end of the table.

Once everyone, except Harumi and Yoshino were seated, the two women walked back into the kitchen to get the last few plates of food. Harumi set down a plate of gyoza in front of Emi and smiled before she sat down in the spot between Naruto and Kakashi, while Yoshino took the spot next to Maiko and across from the Hokage. Once the meal started, it was loud, with different conversations happening all around the table. Harumi who was close to the middle of the table made sure that the boys had plenty of vegetables on their plates, along with plenty of fish. Naruto was not happy with the lack of ramen but was happy to share a meal with his friends.

Unbidden the last time Kakashi had a meal like this was brought to the forefront of his mind. It was when Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee were alive, before Naruto was born. There was a large, loud meal like this when Minato was announced as the next Hokage. Everyone was celebrating and Kakashi was so proud of his foster father. Glancing down the table to Naruto, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if Naruto's father would be proud of Kakashi, or disappointed that he was not a bigger part of Naruto's life. While Kakashi would like to think that Minato would understand, he was convinced that he would not, and would be disappointed in his student for not doing anything to protect his son, whom he sacrificed everything for.

"Kakashi-san, would you like some sake?" Harumi's voice interrupted his dark thoughts.

Kakashi nodded and watched as Harumi fluidly stand up and walk into the kitchen. Minato would approve of Harumi, he thought. She reminded Kakashi of his sensei, with her warmth and the way she would always smile at people. Kakashi glanced over when Shikaku called his name and forced himself to concentrate on the conversation between the Jōnin commander and the Hokage. They were talking about the latest round of missions that have been attacked by bandits. While these missions would typically be C or B ranked, they were discussing if the ranking should be higher, or should they look at not using genin teams, only chūnin and above with a medic assigned to them.

 **AN: Happy New Year!**

 **The dinner scene. Finally got it to where I was mostly happy with it. Not sure if I will ever be completely happy with it, but meh, for now it works. The speed of this story will be picking up soonish, for those who feel it may start dragging. We have a lot of ground to cover before the end and I don't want anyone (including myself) to get bored.**

 **Let me know your thoughts, I love hearing your ideas.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Standard "I don't own anything" Disclaimer**

Harumi sighed as she walked down the stairs early the next morning, she was hoping to get in a quick run before anyone woke up. Just around the village once should be enough of a workout. It had been a while since she just ran, and she wanted to ensure she was still able to keep up. Slowly jogging to the front gates, she waved at Kotetsu and Izumo stationed at the front guard station. Walking over to the side of the road, to avoid being in the way of anyone else who happened to be up before dawn, she gently stretched her muscles. Taking a deep breath, Harumi slowly set off on her run, the first ten minutes being another warmup, she slowly picked up the pace until she was running at civilian speeds, with no chakra to enhance her speed. She kept this up until she reached Hokage mountain, there she applied chakra to her feet and started the climb. Before she reached the top, she was joined by Katsu, who always had an uncanny ability to know when she needed to talk about something, it also meant that she was even less surprised with Tamotsu joined them at the top of the mountain.

"So, what is troubling you now, Harumi-chan?" Katsu asked.

"What makes you think something is troubling me?"

"You only run like this when you have a problem you need to figure out," Tamotsu replied.

"Run like this?" She teased.

"Start slow and climb Hokage mountain. If you just wanted to run, you would have bypassed the mountain and just ran," Katsu answered.

Tamotsu grinned as they slowly ran to the other side of the mountain. Moving in their usual formation with Harumi in the middle with Tamotsu on the left and Katsu on the right, they flew down the mountain. Once off the mountain, the three sprinted as fast as they could back to the front gates. Katsu slowly started taking the lead with Tamotsu a step behind. Harumi forced more chakra into her muscles and pushed harder. Sliding to a stop just outside the front gates, Harumi bent over and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Come on Harumi, you know you can't just stop after a run like that, let's head to our training grounds, at a jog," Tamotsu grinned, grabbing Harumi's arm and dragging her through the gate towards training ground nine.

"Why?" Harumi tried to whine, but instead her voice was still a little breathy.

"Because you want to talk about something," Katsu replied.

Harumi pulled her arm away from Tamotsu and fully straightened as she moved to grab both Tamotsu's and Katsu's hand before jogging between the two.

Katsu laughed, "I do not understand how you can run this way!"

"Practice, of course."

"Okay, but why would you want to run like this with us?"

"Afraid it is going to kill your bad ass reputation?" Harumi asked, as the trio sped through the village streets.

"Of course not," Katsu replied indignantly, "Nothing can kill my reputation!"

"Oh, I am sorry, I can't imagine why I would think that. I am sorry, Katsu-kun," Harumi mocked.

"Hey what about my reputation?" Tamotsu asked.

"You don't have a bad ass reputation, Tamotsu," Katsu replied.

Sputtering Tamotsu pulled his hand away from Harumi and took a swipe at Katsu, who laughed, pulled his hand away from Harumi and started to run in earnest.

Harumi couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up as she took off after the two men who continued to poke at each other. Dropping onto the grass of the training ground, Harumi used her hands as a pillow, as she looked up at the sky that was beginning to get light from the sun.

"Yeah? Well you had to go into ANBU before you would beat me," Tamotsu's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Is that the story you tell yourself at night?" Katsu scoffed.

The grunts as fists and legs connecting with each other was the only sounds in the clearing for a little while, then as the sun was rising above the horizon, both men fell down on the grass next to her.

"Okay, you had your run, and you had your cloud watching time," Katsu said.

"Time to tell us what is on your mind," Tamotsu finished.

Harumi sat up and shrugged, "I had dinner with Yoshino-oba yesterday and she said somethings that," she paused trying to figure out the right word, devastated, tore the ground from under me, before finally settling on "hurt me."

Katsu frowned, "What did she say?"

"She said that I changed, and she implied it wasn't for the better."

"Why would she say that?" Tamotsu asked, "You are growing up, of course you are allowed to change."

"You see, I had some unexpected visitors two nights ago, an injured shinobi and his team. So, I healed him and his team. I was tired and wanted something comfortable and warm, so I pulled out my old jacket to wear. Oba decided that it meant I was returning to my chūnnin self. Am I really that bad that oba would want me to go back to what I was when I was younger?" The last part came out as a whisper, the vulnerability she only showed to her team. Looking at the ground in front of her, Harumi missed the look shared by her two teammates, but she did feel their arms go around her in a group hug.

"There is nothing wrong with you, Haru-chan. We are always changing and growing. Thankfully because no one wants Katsu to be the same loud mouth kid he was when we were first genin."

"Hey! I wasn't that bad!" came the indignant reply.

Harumi smiled at the familiar teasing that always made her feel better. "So why is oba so obsessed with me changing?"

Both men were silent for a moment, giving her question serious thought.

"Because she was hoping that by being in the hospital all of the time, you would be protected from the horrors of being a shinobi," came the soft reply.

Harumi, Katsu and Tamotsu's head all jerked up to look at Shikaku walking across the training ground towards them.

"You were upset last night and if you are still upset in the morning you run, and your team always ends up here after your run," he replied to the unspoken question. "You see, with you not being on active duty, Yoshino hoped that you would be able to continue to be the sweet and loving child that loved to laugh that she saw grow up. It pains her to see you so serious all of the time and to guard your smiles like they are treasures."

"Why did she think the hospital would be less horrific?" Katsu asked.

"My wife doesn't know the types of cases they give to Harumi-chan. She likes to think that Harumi is mending broken bones and healing cuts. It isn't because she is unaware of the types of things that go on in a hospital, but more that she is unaware of how skilled Harumi really is."

"Doesn't she listen when Harumi talks about her cases?" Tamotsu asked.

Harumi shook her head, "I don't talk to her about most of my hospital cases, just the ones that are easy, the broken bones and the cuts."

"Why not?" Tamotsu demanded.

"Most of my cases are deemed secret, and it is not my job to gossip about the types of injuries I have to heal. Besides the hospital administrator would have anyone's head who was caught gossiping about an injury we healed or the woman who just found out she is pregnant, and her husband is on a long-term mission."

Katsu nodded, "That could be a problem, but what about the none classified cases, like that genin you found the antidote for, or the shinobi whose arm you helped to reattach?"

Harumi shrugged, "I am surrounded by blood and death daily. When I go to talk to people, I try not to relive that." When Katsu opened his mouth she interrupted, "Just because I am not taking A-ranked and S-ranked missions doesn't mean I am less exposed to blood, death and danger. It just means that mine comes in a different form. At least with your missions, you get in and out, I have to deal with families." Harumi tried to smile at that, but it felt fake.

"Don't worry about Yoshino, Harumi-chan. She feels bad about what she said and what she implied, I wouldn't be surprised if she were to come and visit you for lunch." After giving the two men bracketing Harumi a small nod, Shikaku disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Well that settles it," Tamotsu declared.

"Settles what?" Harumi asked.

"We will go to the mission desk and see if they have anything for the three of us," Katsu smiled. "If your oba wants to make up to you, she will have a hard time doing it if we are all gone."

Harumi laughed, "You two are looking for trouble."

The two men stood up and each held a hand out to help Harumi up. Linking her arms with her teammates, the three of them proceeded to walk out of the training ground and towards her house. "Food first, then the mission desk," she decided.

"Of course," Katsu replied, his tone fully said, "well duh."

After breakfast, the three teammates separated to make arrangements for their last-minute decision, with the promise to meet up in a few minutes. Meeting up with Naruto, Masahiro started to talk.

"Did you have fun at the dinner party, Naruto?"

"I think so," Naruto replied.

"What do you mean you think so? I liked the food and that a lot of my cousins got to play with us. The best part was when Hideaki's teammate made all of those water bubbles and we had to dodge them!"

"There was a lot of talking though and I didn't understand most of it," Naruto confessed.

Masahiro scoffed, "Oh that, grownups always do that when they get together and out number the kids. Harumi-nee says that I should just ignore most of it, unless I am being spoken too, or it is about me."

"Oh," Naruto's smile returned, "Then it was a good dinner party. There was no ramen, but that is okay I guess because the food was really good! Playing with your cousins was always lots of fun."

Masahiro looked up at the masked man following them, "Did you have a good time Kakashi-san?"

Before Kakashi could answer, Katsu dropped off the roof next to Harumi. "Hey Haru-chan, we have a mission waiting for your signature at the mission desk."

Harumi frowned, "How do you know?"

Katsu grinned, "I might have told someone at headquarters that we needed to be out of the village for the day to avoid a someone and a request came in for your services and I signed us up as guards."

Harumi laughed, "Do they know who we are avoiding?"

"Nah, they probably think I want to avoid my kaa-san who is on the matchmaking war path again."

"You are going on a mission, nee-chan?" Masahiro asked in a soft voice.

Katsu smiled and ruffled Masahiro's hair, "Just a short one, short stuff. Your nee-chan will be back before you are out done with the academy."

Masahiro frowned, "I am not short!"

Harumi laughed at the outrage on her brother's face, but before he could turn the outrage in her direction she nodded, "We are here. Have a good day and don't be too hard on your teachers today, hmm?"

After the boys walked into the building, Harumi turned to Katsu, "We are meeting Tamotsu at the mission desk, since you know about the mission do I need anything special?"

"I don't know," Katsu shrugged, "They didn't tell me anything except that you were requested and Hokage declared that you needed guards."

"Well, okay," Harumi turned to say good bye to Kakashi only to find him staring at Katsu. Glancing between the two men, Harumi opened her mouth to say something, only to have Katsu interrupt her.

"Why don't you head on over, I will be there in a minute. I think Hatake-san has something to tell me."

Harumi stared at Katsu, shocked at his very careful blank expression, the same one she saw on occasion when he was fresh off a hard mission, swinging her head, she looked at Kakashi and only then was she aware of the killing intent that was swirling around the three of them. "Kakashi?" Harumi asked, not sure what her question is, but hoping that he could understand it.

She must have broken whatever spell was over him, because suddenly Kakashi smiled and the killing intent was gone, as if it never happened, "Maa, your friend looks familiar and I just wanted to figure out where I know him from. You should hurry to the tower, Hokage might want to talk to you about this mission."

"If you say so," her voice showing her doubt, but know being able to call him out on anything, she just gave Katsu a pointed look that told him to behave before turning to walk to the tower.

"Mouse," Kakashi ordered as he jumped to one of the roofs nearby.

"Hound?" Katsu asked.

"Does Harumi know you are in ANBU?"

"She knows."

"Does she know your mask?"

"No sir."

Kakashi nodded, "You were the friend that witnessed the assault in the hospital."

Understanding that it was a statement, Katsu stayed silent.

"You will protect her on this mission?"

"Of course," Katsu started to reply, but before he could another person joined them on the roof. With a small thud, the ANBU landed near Kakashi, judging by his height, Katsu decided it was the Uchiha kid, but it could also be a henge to throw people off.

"Taichou, Hokage has requested our presents immediately," Cat said quietly.

Kakashi nodded, "I guess we will have to finish this conversation later."

Katsu nodded and gave a smile, but not really a smile since it had too many teeth showing, "Yes we will."

The three men took off in the same direction, however Katsu jumped to the ground and took off to the mission desk instead of the Hokage's office at the top of the tower. Katsu met Tamotsu at the door and together they walked in to meet Harumi.

Kakashi knocked on the window behind the Hokage's desk, the occupant of the desk sighed and said, "Come in."

"Kakashi, Itachi, I have a mission for you two. I need you to guard a medical nin who is delivering some supplies to a near by village. While the medic is at the village clinic you two will gather more information on this rogue Uchiha."

Kakashi frowned, "Sir, is the medic Shimizu Harumi?"

Sarutobi nodded, "It is. This shouldn't be a problem, I saw that you two interact well together."

"No sir, I have problem working with her, however it seems that her two genin teammates have requested to be her guards."

"Do you know why?"

"No sir, but it sounds like this was something they agreed on this morning. Something about avoiding someone."

"Shimizu-san and Nara Yoshino had a fight last night and Yoshino-san will probably look for Harumi-san to apologize. Her teammates decided that in order to force Nara-san to watch what she says in the future, Harumi-san will not be available for the apology," Itachi supplied.

"How do you know this?" Kakashi asked.

"Harumi-san ran past the Uchiha compound before dawn this morning, which made me curious. So, I followed behind her at a distance. She was met by her teammates at Hokage monument and they talked for a little while. After racing down to monument to the front gates, her teammates took her to the training grounds where they sparred for a little bit and then she told them why she needed to run. Evidently when Harumi is troubled in the morning, she will run. Then Nara Shikaku arrived and told the three that Yoshino-san has seen the error of her ways and will more than likely come looking for Harumi to share lunch. Thus, it was decided that the three of them would leave the village for the day to ensure Nara-san learned her lesson," Itachi informed the two shocked men.

"Well that might be a problem, but nothing that is too big. I will just have the four of you accompany Harumi-san," Sarutobi raised his voice, "Genma! When Harumi-san arrives to pick up her mission have her and her team come up here."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," came the reply, with a small pop and the smell of smoke.

Just a moment later, Genma returned with Harumi and two men following him.

Harumi bowed to Sarutobi and smiled at Kakashi and Itachi, "Hokage-sama, Kakashi-san, ANBU-san, it is good to see you."

Katsu glared at Kakashi and leaned over to whisper into Tamotsu's ear, "I am pretty sure Kakashi is the reason Harumi was wearing the jacket that caused the fight with her oba."

Kakashi looked sharply at the two men before turning back to the Hokage. Deliberately slouching more, Kakashi stood and waited for Hokage to speak.

Harumi frowned, the room was full of tension that should not be there, not for a simple medical supply delivery. In fact, she shouldn't even be needed for this mission, but she was not going to be upset by the request.

"Harumi-kun, this mission is fairly straight forward, you will deliver these," Hokage held out three scrolls, "medical supplies, of which is some of the antidote you made for the poison that is currently plaguing the country. You will need to give the clinic instructions on how to identify the poison and how to administer the antidote. You are not to tell anyone how the antidote is made; however, you can give basic information about the ingredients so that the clinic can have them on hand if there is a need for more to be made and they can't get more delivered."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Kakashi, Itachi, Katsu and Tamotsu, your mission is to guard Harumi and her cargo, while she is at the village, I need you to ask around to see if there is any news worth knowing about. Most importantly, ensure the safety of Harumi," Sarutobi repeated.

Katsu and Tamotsu frowned, "Are you expecting a problem?"

Hokage just shrugged, "There have been rumors that the person who has created the poison in question is in the area, looking for the kunoichi who created the antidote. I will leave it up to you five to decide how this mission will proceed, but you must be back before the end of the day. Dismissed."

The five shinobi saluted and bowed before walking out of the office. Silently they walked down the stairs and stood in front of the tower. Harumi quickly placed the scrolls into her hip pouch. "So, want to meet at the main gate in fifteen minutes? I need to go past my house and grab a few things," Harumi suggested.

Kakashi nodded, "Cat, you need to put your regular uniform on."

Cat saluted and quickly leapt away.

"The weather report said it should rain this afternoon, make sure you pack for that," Tamotsu stated.

"So, jackets it is," Harumi smiled. "See you all in a few minutes."

The three men watched as Harumi ran down the road. Katsu glared at Kakashi again, "Will there be a problem between us on this mission?"

"Not at all, stay within the parameters of our mission and we will not have any problems," Kakashi stated.

"Look, I don't know you, but it sounds like Katsu does, so I am just going to tell you that this mission is supposed to be an easy one, one that allows Harumi to get out and stretch her legs and to relax. I may not be ANBU, but I can and will hurt you if you don't allow this to happen on the mission."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at the young man.

"I am not going to be unreasonable and say that noting can happen on the mission and that if something does, I will hold you responsible. What I am saying is that within your control, you will not cause Harumi-chan to do something other than complete the mission and relax."

"I will do nothing to jeopardize the mission, or your expectations for Harumi," Kakashi promised. Then in a swirl of leaves, he was gone, leaving the two men staring at the leaves.

"It will be fine, if Harumi knows those two, she can work with them. All we need to do is keep our mouths shut and finish the mission. The goal is to get Harumi to relax," Tamotsu told Katsu, patting him on the shoulder.

"I still don't like that guy," Katsu said.

"Is there a specific reason?" Tamotsu asked as the two of them jogged towards the main gate.

"Other than I the stuff I heard in ANBU?"

"What types of things have you heard?"

"That he was forced to retire because he almost slaughtered a teammate. That before he was in ANBU, he did kill one of his teammates. That he accepts the missions that no one else will take because there is little to no likelihood that they will return. That guy is walking trouble."

"So, you do not like the guy based on rumors, have you actually worked with him?"

"I... well yes, once," Katsu admitted.

"And...?"

"He was team leader and he was a professional the entire time."

"Well that is good. I can tell you that he is now the guardian of a little boy who is slightly younger than Masahiro. They are in the same class. Harumi sometimes watches the little boy and together Masahiro and the boy will train and pull pranks on other people."

Harumi popped up next to her two teammates and the three of them finished walking through Konoha. Harumi waved to the people who called out to her, but for the most part she focused on the mission in front of her. Hokage said that this was a simple mission, however she was given four guards, well if you can say that she needed protection. Normally this type of mission was a two-person mission. Which means that either the threat to her was greater than Hokage lead them to believe or there was something else going on. Harumi went over her list of supplies, the reason she went home was to add more things to her medical supplies and added an extra set of poison senbons to her pack. She would rather be over prepared than need something and not have it.

 **AN:** **I hope no one is disappointed about the lack of stuff happening. I promise we are ramping up to some, I just suck at writing fights, so I put in as much 'everyday fluff stuff' that I can think of to avoid it. Also I think the fluff helps to model life. Not everything is a life or death situation in the Naruto world, just sometimes.**

 **I am sorry for any spelling or grammar errors, this chapter was not beta'ed, my usual beta reader is currently afk and I didn't want to wait to upload this chapter.**

 **Until next time, enjoy :)**


	17. Chapter 17

When they arrived at the gate, it was to find Kakashi and Itachi standing there, Itachi standing still while Kakashi was reading his book. Harumi tried not to frown at the book, she made the mistake of glancing in the book at a book shop, it was not something that she would _ever_ read, much less in front of children, however shinobi could have their quirks. Even if that quirk was porn.

With a snap, Kakashi closed his book and slipped into his weapons pouch, "Ready?"

"Hai," Harumi replied as she walked closer to the gate. "I have an appointment; this afternoon and I can't be late." Without another word, Harumi walked out of the gates, not checking to see if anyone was following, she kept a fast pace until she was out of sight of everyone and then she took to the trees and kicked up the speed. Within seconds of her reaching the second branch, the rest of the team caught up to her, slowly they moved into a standard five-man formation, with Harumi in the middle.

"So, what is so special about this antidote?" Tamotsu asked.

"You mean other than the fact no one else has been able to make it?" Harumi asked with a laugh.

"Well yeah," came the reply.

"Well simply put, the antidote is not that special, it is like another that is common, but the fact that the actual poison is used is what makes it special. It is basically the poison with some extra bits to ensure that the body is stimulated to fight off the effects of the poison. It doesn't work all of the time, but when it does, it is wonderful."

"Stimulates the body to fight off poison?" Kakashi asked.

"Specifically, the chakra infused antibodies are included in the antidote, which means that as soon as the antidote is introduced to the body, the body's system can start combating the poison."

Katsu frowned, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make the chakra infused antibodies," he clarified.

"Oh," Harumi's voice lowered as she changed her direction to avoid hitting a tree, "Well the easiest way is to inject a small amount of poison into your own system, stimulate the white blood cells in your body, and once antibodies are present, you draw blood, separate the antibodies from the red blood cells and inject them into the patient."

"What?!" An outraged Tamotsu shouted. "You inject yourself with a poison? That is your magic solution?"

"When did you decide that injecting yourself with a known deadly poison was okay, Harumi?" Katsu asked, his voice hard.

"I didn't say that I did it. I just said it was the easiest way, however the normal procedure is to inject the poison into a mouse or rat and stimulate the antibodies from outside the body."

Katsu snarled, "I am going to kick your ass when we get back, Harumi. Why did you scare me like that?"

Harumi flashed a grin, "It pays to keep you on your toes. Besides, how else would I get you to focus on something other than glaring at Kakashi the whole trip?"

Katsu grinned, "Why would I glare at Kakashi the whole trip?"

"I could be wrong, but it could have something to do with the fact that the three times I have seen the two of you in visual range, you have glared at him," she glanced at Kakashi, "And yes, I have seen the glare returned."

"If I said that it was a male thing, would you accept that?"

"I might, if you could explain a little about why in terms I can understand."

"Not to put a fine point on it, but Katsu has heard some unflattering things about Kakashi, and as your self-appointed big brother, he doesn't like the idea of you hanging out with him. Also, he is convinced that Kakashi is the reason you and Yoshino-san got into a fight last night."

Kakashi's head snapped to look at Harumi, while Itachi's moved slightly slower.

"What does that mean? The only one responsible for my fight with my aunt, is my aunt," Harumi asked, slightly afraid of his answer.

"Well you said that you were woken up by an injured shinobi and his team, the next morning Kakashi gives a report that states he was injured. You also know Itachi who was on said mission with Kakashi," Katsu stated. "You also said that it was because of the injured shinobi that you wore the jacket that caused your aunt to question you, which lead to you asking if you were good enough."

Harumi continued to jump from tree branch to tree branch while she thought about what Katsu said. Connecting the pieces for the puzzle, she looked over at Kakashi and Itachi to judge what they were thinking. They both kept a stoic face, the slight tightening around Kakashi's eye tipped her anger over the edge. Catching Tamotsu's eye, she tipped her head in Katsu's direction. Tamotsu shook his head, so Harumi grimaced and nodded her head once. With a sigh, Tamotsu finally nodded and flashed two fingers, Harumi opened her whole hand to counter with five fingers. He shook his head and flashed three fingers, to which Harumi nodded. Looking forward again, Harumi looked ahead to find the best place for the ambush to take place. The plan was made when she saw a small clearing ahead, she glanced at Tamotsu who saw the clearing and nodded and showed her the three fingers one last time before slowing down just a little.

At the last jump right before the clearing, Harumi put more power into her jump and angled her body to bring her right behind Katsu, which caused his concentration to break as her foot connected with his heel just seconds before her hand shoved him right between the shoulders. Falling forward, Katsu folded in half and flipped so that he landed on his feet and facing Harumi as she dropped out of the trees. Not waiting, once her feet were on the ground, Harumi launched herself at him, throwing a punch towards his nose.

Katsu threw an arm up to block and quickly attacked with the other arm. Harumi blocked the punch and returned it along with a low kick to his knees. Jumping backwards, Katsu launched himself back at Harumi, his legs flying as he threw a series of kicks at her. Harumi ducked and blocked the kicks, accept a knife hand to her side, grunting slightly with the pain, she returned the hit along with a kick to the chest that sent Katsu flying.

Tamotsu sat on the ground pulling out his canteen and taking a small drink, while keeping an eye on the two fighters.

"Tamotsu-san?" Itachi ventured, also watching the two people fighting.

"Hmm?"

"Why are they fighting? We are on a mission!" Itachi sounded scandalized at the thought of being anything other than professional.

"We are on a mission, which is why they are sparing, while we have a quick break and it is safe," Tamotsu held up his canteen as if it were proof of what he was saying.

"Why are they sparing then?" Kakashi asked, wincing as Harumi got hit with a particularly nasty looking roundhouse kick.

"Oh, because Harumi is pissed that Katsu has decided that you are the cause of all of her current problems. Also, I am sure she has decided that by making the connections Katsu made to reach his conclusion is somehow related to ANBU secrets, which technically, Harumi is not supposed to know and that Katsu is not supposed to be sharing," Tamotsu shared. "So, in order to ensure she doesn't waste more energy on ignoring the problem or more than likely waste her attention being divided between Kakashi-san and Katsu, they are sparring for three minutes. Speaking of which," Raising his voice he called, "Time!"

Both combatants stopped what they were doing immediately. Reaching out a hand to Katsu who was on the ground, Harumi smiled at her teammate. "Now that that is over, are you good now?"

Katsu took her hand and stood up with a groan. "Damn girl, why did you have to hit me so hard?" He asked as he rubbed a hand lightly over his swollen eye.

"Big baby," Harumi hummed as she set about healing some of the damage she did. "Maybe you will think twice before you make assumptions based on partial data."

"Hey now, don't insult my intelligence by telling me that there is nothing connecting Kakashi being hurt and the fight with your aunt."

Harumi sighed, "For the last time, the only person responsible for my fight with my aunt, is my aunt! She is the one that made assumptions and she is the one that hurt my feelings. No one else!"

"I don't understand why you are protecting him, Harumi."

"I am not protecting anyone. Just listen to me, Yoshino-oba must have been storing up what she said for a long time and it was going to come out sooner or later. The fact she said it right before a dinner party means that it was important enough for her to risk me walking out of the party. Which means she has been thinking about it for a long time. Yoshino-oba is a Nara for gods sake, she doesn't just randomly blurt shit," Harumi paused and gave Katsu a look, "like some people I know."

Tamotsu stood up, brushed the grass off his pants, "Okay kids, you have yelled at each other, beaten each other up a bit, now it is time to put your mission face on and complete the mission." Handing his canteen to Harumi he checked her over for obvious wounds, "Drink a little water, then we are off."

"Hai," Harumi and Katsu responded. Harumi took the first sip of water and handed the canteen to Katsu before reaching into her pouch and fingered the bottle of soldier pills she put in there. Knowing she would need one later, especially if she was needed to heal anyone else, she withdrew her hand, confident in the knowledge that she had them there if needed. Once Tamotsu put his canteen away, Harumi looked at Tamotsu and nodded, to which he said, "Let's go."

In sync the five of them leapt to the nearest trees and continued to the village. Thankfully the rest of the trip was quiet, Harumi was careful with her chakra because she spent a lot of it on the spar with Katsu and then healing him. She also spared a little chakra to heal her more noticeable injuries. Landing outside the village, the five shinobi slowly walked through the small gate to.

Walking up to the first person she saw, Harumi smiled, "Excuse me, could you point me to the direction of the medical clinic?"

The villager looked up, first at the hitai-ate across her forehead and then at her smile. "It is over there," he pointed up the road, "last building on the left, it will say clinic on the sign."

"Arigato," Harumi bowed a little before walking in the direction the man indicated. "Once we get to the clinic, you all should go and get something to eat and drink. I am sure I will be a while," Harumi addressed the four men slightly louder than she needed too, but not so loudly that people would guess that she was doing it on purpose. "Oh," she continued as if it were an afterthought, "see if there is a food the local people have a recommendation and if the locals can't recommend something, then anything but dango please."

Katsu and Tamotsu used to this, both nodded while Kakashi and Itachi did the same just a fraction of a second later. Arriving at the clinic, Harumi walked through the door and waved to the four of them. Tamotsu lowered his voice, "I will take care of getting Harumi's food, however if anyone recommends something be sure to let me know."

Katsu, Kakashi and Itachi all nodded before heading off in different directions. Kakashi walked into the nearest bar and ordered a drink. He sat and listened to the conversations around him.

Itachi walked over to the local market and with his practiced wide-eyed innocent look, he started to ask questions about the local food, because his team leader wanted to try something special.

Katsu went back to the main gate area and started to chat up the old men who were sitting around and playing a dice game.

Tamotsu walked towards the nearest tea shop to listen to what the women around the village had to say.

Exactly two hours later, the two of the four men moved back to the clinic while the other two moved to follow the two people who seemed the most promising leads.

 **AN: Another chapter down and the action begins. I hope you all are enjoying the story. Until next time :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Meanwhile in the clinic, Harumi was quickly setting out all the supplies she brought with her, including a detailed list of ingredients for the antidote. She then took four people at a time and walked them through how to use the antidote. Since that didn't take too long, Harumi spent most of her time helping to heal the patients that were in the clinic. Making notes about the types of ailments that were common here, which thankfully amounted to mostly cuts, bruises, the flu and colds. However, there was one person who was suffering from a weakness in the lungs, which Harumi was not able to heal, but ease the symptoms. It was during this healing that she learned about a man who was preaching about a new world, one where there was no war and everlasting peace. This same man was asking people to come and join his group of believers in the Land of Rain. He was known as the Masked Man.

"Rest, you will feel better soon," Harumi smiled as she gave the man a small push to sleep. Filing that information away, Harumi glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it had been over two hours since she arrived. She turned when she felt the familiar chakra signatures of her teammates. Smiling she looked between Itachi and Tamotsu, "Did you guys find any good food? I am starving."

Itachi held out a bowl of steaming vegetables over rice, "One of the women in the market said that these vegetables were harvested this morning and that they taste best when they are fresh."

Harumi took the bowl and smiled at Itachi, "It looks delicious, Itachi-kun, thank you." Picking up the chopsticks, she took a bite and groaned, "This is wonderful, did you get some?"

Itachi shook his head, "I had something else, though."

Harumi continued to eat, faster than should be polite, but she was very hungry since she didn't take a soldiers pill to replenish her chakra reserves when they got here and had helped in healing people which depleted her stores even more. "Food is good, we will have to return quickly if we are to meet our deadline."

Tamotsu nodded, "I found a nice tea shop where the women were nice enough to send you a pot of tea for the trip home. I will need to pick it up before we leave, they wanted it to be fresh. It seems there is an abundance of healing that needs to be done and not enough medic-nins to do the healings. So, they wanted to show their appreciation for anything that you do."

"Be sure to express my thanks, will you Tamotsu?"

"Of course, now when did you want to leave?"

"I am almost finished here, with this food I should be able to go much faster. I should be ready within the hour."

"Very good. I will let the rest of the team know and we will meet you here in one hour. I will bring you something small to eat before we head off."

Harumi sighed, "I know better than to argue, so I will say thank you instead."

Tamotsu smiled, "And Hide-kun was worried you would never learn."

"Oh you!" she reached out and smacked him in the arm, laughing. Bowing she offered the now empty bowl to Itachi, "Please give the woman at the market my thanks for the wonderful meal, it was exactly what I needed."

Itachi nodded as he took the bowl and chopsticks. "Hai, Harumi-sensei."

"Oh, and Itachi?" Harumi called as Itachi walked towards the door, "Could you keep your eyes out for an orange mask, would you? I am wanting a new mask for my collection."

Itachi's expression didn't change, but he nodded his head slightly as he quickly decoded the warning about a person in an orange mask. Walking out the door, he quickly made his way to the market to return the bowl and to see if anyone else had heard of the man in the orange mask.

Two hours later, Kakashi, Itachi, Tamotsu and Katsu were waiting outside the clinic. Katsu was leaning on the wall next to the door waiting for Harumi to finish, Kakashi was reading a book, Itachi was looking up the road and Tamotsu was having a conversation with one of the old ladies he found at the tea shop. She was holding a thermos of tea. Harumi walked out of the clinic just a few minutes later, her skin was pale, and she was moving slowly with weariness.

Katsu jerked upright and looked Harumi up and down, then he picked up a small box at his feet and shoved it at her, "Eat these."

Harumi nodded and sat down on the steps and quickly ate the onigiri in the box. "We can leave at any time," Harumi said between bites. Tamotsu brought the tea thermos over to her and poured out some into a cup to cool it down faster. Blowing on it, Harumi took a small sip, letting the liquid warm her up. Low chakra always translates to feeling weak and cold for Harumi and her teammates know this by now. After finishing her food and drinking another cup of tea, Harumi stood up, "I'm ready," she stated as she started to walk to the front gates. Kakashi fell into step with Harumi, still reading his book while Itachi walked slightly behind the two. Katsu and Tamotsu walked on either side of Itachi, both monitoring Harumi's movements.

Harumi was tired, she really could use a rest to get her chakra back up, but unfortunately all she was going to get was a small snack and some tea, but she still had her pills, which, if she continued to have problems staying upright, then she would take it just after they left the village. Leaning towards Kakashi, she asked, "What do you think of the villagers?"

Kakashi smiled, "A nice place, however they have had a lot of bad luck lately, thankfully you were here to help them with some of their medical problems."

Harumi nodded, making sure her movements were slow and deliberate, "I am just happy to be able to help."

Kakashi snapped his book closed and dropped back, "Standard escort formation," he said in a low voice, but was loud enough to be overheard by the other people around.

Katsu nodded, and Tamotsu moved faster to move into position to the left and slightly ahead of Harumi. Itachi moved to the right, mirroring Tamotsu, while Kakashi and Katsu fell into position behind them. Harumi continued to walk in a fast pace, but one that would easily tire her out quickly. After thirty minutes of walking at this pace, she slowed down a little, and started dragging her right foot a little bit. Reaching into her hip pouch, she pulled out her canteen, along with a soldier pill she palmed and secretly ate. For the next thirty minutes, Harumi walked slower and slower, dragging her feet more and more.

Finally, Katsu frowned and called out, "Let's take a short break. Harumi, you need to eat and drink something. You must have over exerted yourself at the village."

"Yes, sempai," Harumi replied, digging into her pouch to pull out a ration bar. Taking a bite, she wrinkled her nose, "You would think these things would taste better."

"Just eat it, you only have ten minutes!" Katsu barked.

"Yes, sempai."

While Harumi was playing bait, by being loud and obviously worn out, Kakashi, Itachi and Katsu were holding a conversation using ANBU hand signs about the stalker that followed them for the last hour.

"Tamotsu, I am going to get a quickly eight-minute nap, wake me up when it is time to leave?" Harumi asked while leaning back against a log. Leaning her head back she sighed as she closed her eyes.

While Harumi had been complaining to Katsu about the ration bar, Kakashi had made a Kage Bunshin to take his place while the real Kakashi jumped into the trees to get behind the stalker. Hiding from another shinobi is never easy, however Kakashi had been the elite of the elite in ANBU, sneaking up on other shinobi is something he was very good at. Knowing that Itachi and Katsu were waiting for Kakashi to get in place before starting their plan, Kakashi quickly got into position and then it became a waiting game. Harumi would be the perfect target while she was "taking a nap" while Tamotsu and Katsu started a small argument. Itachi, would be distracted by the argument and therefore everyone's focus would be off Harumi who was sleeping. However, they were also prepared in the event their stalker is under orders just to follow them.

Two hours later, Kakashi jumped down from the tree he was currently hiding in, watching the man following behind their group. Kakashi's clone and Itachi had switched places after their rest in the clearing. Harumi was doing a good job of acting like the tired and slightly abused medical-nin. Kakashi smiled at a few of Harumi's quips to Katsu, who had taken on the role of mother hen. Currently Harumi was grumbling.

"Look, we are almost back to the Hidden Leaf, you can stop telling me what to do!"

"I am just trying to look out for you."

Harumi "fell" off the tree branch she was on, twisting in the air, she landed on her feet.

"Now look what you did!" Katsu cried as he quickly followed her off the tree, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine! I am just tired! I told you, I will be fine after I get a good meal and some sleep. Now stop telling me what to do!"

"Now children," Tamotsu called, also jumping down to the ground, "we are almost home, so let's not argue until then. Katsu, you know that Harumi gets grumpy when she is tired," Harumi stuck her tongue out at Katsu and Tamotsu continued, "And Haru-chan, you know how Katsu gets when he is worried, it is best to let him fuss."

"Ha!" Katsu smirked.

Itachi just followed behind the group, his face as stoic as ever, not showing any shock or frustration by his teammates bickering.

"I am FINE, Katsu!" Harumi snapped again before stomping off ahead of the group, turning slightly she glared at Katsu, "I need a minute!"

Itachi and Tamotsu frowned at Harumi's retreating back. "Great, look what you did, you pissed off our medic," Tamotsu grumbled.

"Do you want me to go after her, Tamotsu-san?" Itachi asked.

"In a minute, Itachi-kun. She will need a minute to calm down."

Walking further into the woods, Harumi found a root sticking out of the ground and flopped onto it. Making sure to pitch her voice so that it carried through the forest to Katsu and Tamotsu, "Stupid men! Thinking they know everything! I'm a grown woman, a fully grown adult. I know what I can handle and what I can't!"

Keeping her senses open, Harumi continued to complain, letting her voice lower to a whispered mutter. She threw handfuls of fallen leaves, dead grass and sticks punctuating a word or two. A soft breeze against her back was her only warning to duck.

A kunai flew over her head.

Rolling over to avoid any other potential projectiles, Harumi saw a large black figure jump towards her. Before he could land, a blur hit the figure. Bodies collided with a thump and a grunt.

The two figures landed on the ground, with Kakashi on top. The dark figure brought his giant fist back to smash into Kakashi's face when Itachi caught the eye of the giant figure. Harumi watched as the man Kakashi was holding went limp. Kakashi got off the man and Katsu grabbed his arms and tied them behind his back, making sure to add a couple extra loops to prevent the man from making any signs. Tamotsu slapped a chakra suppresent seal on the man's exposed arm.

"Took you guys long enough to get here," Harumi teased. "What were you doing, making flower crowns?"

Tamotsu stuck his tongue out, "We couldn't just rush over here, he needed to make the first move."

"Whatever," Harumi walked over to where everyone was, "How long can Itachi keep him like this?"

"As long as we need him too," Kakashi answered.

"So what is the plan?" Katsu asked.

"Ma, since he is secure, Itachi and I can take him back to ANBU headquarters and let Ibiki have a look at him."

Tamotsu nodded, "That seems like the best plan, really and if Itachi can continue to move while the genjutsu is cast, then even better."

"Or I could just knock him out," Harumi offered, her hand reaching towards her medical pack, "I have some chloroform in my bag for emergencies, all he has to do is breath it in and he will be out for a few hours."

Kakashi nodded, "Good enough, if he starts to wake up, we can always stop and put him back under a genjutsu."

"Hopefully it won't come to that, but if you want I can put him into a chakra induced sleep, we do that sometime when we have to perform emergency surgery."

"Which would be easier?"

"Honestly the chloroform would be the easiest, it runs out on its own."

"Do it."

Harumi pulled the small bottle of chloroform out of her pack and grabbed a clean square of cotton. Before she could douse the cloth, Itachi smiled.

"He will stay asleep until I wake him, taichou."

Kakashi gave Itachi a small nod, "Good job Itachi," turning to Katsu, "I trust you can handle things from here?" Without waiting for a response, Kakashi bent over, grabbed the man by the arm and pulled him up and over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "See you back in the village."

Harumi lifted her hand to wave and frowned at the leaves falling where the two shinobi had once stood.

"Well looks like we can run normally now," Tamotsu commented dryly.

Harumi flashed him a smile, "Let's go, I still have an appointment this afternoon."

 **AN: How do you like it? I hope this is moving faster for those who wanted it to move. I am working on the next chapter as I upload this, and I'm going to appologize in advance, it is going to take a little while to finish and upload. Life is about to get busy for the next few weeks and I'm going to be pressed for time to write. But that is also why you are getting this a week early, I just wanted to upload something :)**

 **Oh and for those who were wondering, I started to upload the Gaara/OC fiction I was working on in Nov. Chapter 1 is up, and Chapter 2 should be up shortly, if it hasn't already been uploaded.**

 **Enjoy, reviews are always welcome.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Some time passes**

"Where are we going, Nii-san?" Sasuke asked walking next to Itachi.

"We are going to see some boys your age who are training with their older siblings also," Itachi replied.

Sasuke looked up at his older brother and grinned, "Are they as strong as you are?"

Itachi gave Sasuke a smile, which translated to a slight upturn of the corners of his lips, "I don't know otouto, I guess you will just have to see."

"Okay, but I don't think they are!"

"How could you know that foolish little brother?"

"Because no one is stronger than my nii-san!" Sasuke replied, his voice high and slightly squeaky because he was so excited. Itachi was going to train with him, finally! And even better, they were going to train with other kids, and it was a secret!

They came to a training ground, closer to the Nara Forest, which meant a long way away from the Uchiha compound. The two brothers followed the sounds of laughter. Walking into a small clearing, just outside of the main training area they found two little boys scooping up water balloons and throwing them at different targets stationed around the clearing. Then along with the water balloons, they were throwing kunai or shuriken at the center of the water stain. Throwing weapons was not that unusual, however, the water balloons made the exercise more interesting, because the water stain could be anywhere, and it had a time limit because the water was evaporating much faster than was normal for the conditions.

"Ha! I got that one first Masa-kun!" Naruto shouted.

Harumi and Kakashi laughed as they continued to fill the bucket up with water balloons.

"My turn next," Masahiro challenged.

Itachi put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and moved him towards the two adults. "Harumi-san, Kakashi-sempai," Itachi greeted the two.

Harumi smiled brightly at Itachi, "Itachi-kun! I am so glad you could make it!"

Sasuke was shocked, this woman greeted Itachi like a friend, while Itachi greeted her like an equal. This was not what he was taught.

"Yo," Kakashi said as he nodded his head at Itachi.

"Kakashi-sempai, Harumi-san, this is my younger brother Sasuke," Itachi introduced them, Harumi and Kakashi stopped filling water balloons to turn and look at the young boy. "Otouto, this is Hatake Kakashi and Shimizu Harumi."

Harumi bowed slightly to the little boy, "A pleasure to meet you Sasuke-kun."

Kakashi just nodded and Harumi rolled her eyes. "Masahiro, Naruto come here for a moment." The two boys walked over, very quickly but carefully and Harumi smiled at them before walking behind them and kneeling between the two boys. "Boys, this is Itachi-san's younger brother, Sasuke. He has not started the academy yet, but since he is the same age as Naruto, Kakashi and I thought you would like to have a training day together. Sasuke-kun, this is my little brother Masahiro," Harumi gestured to her brother, "and this is Naruto," she waved her hand in the direction of the blond boy. "Boys?" she prompted.

"Hello Sasuke-kun," two voices replied.

"We are training for speed and accuracy today. Do you know how to throw kunai and shuriken?" Naruto asked, a huge smile on his face.

Sasuke frowned, "Of course I know how to throw kunai and shuriken," he replied indignantly. "Nii-san has been training me forever."

Naruto nodded, "Good, then you can train with us."

With that Naruto handed Sasuke and Masahiro each a water balloon, then picked one up for himself. Each boy grabbed either a shuriken or kunai from the small pile in front of the bucket and waited. Finally, Naruto broke the small wait and threw his balloon.

Splat!

Thump!

Thud!

Thud!

One shuriken and two kunai quickly followed the balloon exploding on the tree.

"Very good boys," Harumi praised as she looked at the 'target' "All three are in the center and stayed so direct hit."

"Yay!" Naruto cheered.

The three boys then picked up two more throwing weapons. Then quickly, Sasuke and Masahiro threw their balloons, this time hitting the tree on either side of the tree Naruto hit.

Splat!

Thud!

Splat!

Thump!

Thump!

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

The three boys ran over to the trees, Itachi smiled as he helped Kakashi and Harumi make the water balloons. The boys continued their training for another hour before Harumi called a halt. "Do some kata's as your cooldown and stretch, then we move onto something else!"

Harumi took out three bottles of water and handed them to the boys and a small snack she had packed for this occasion. Naruto and Masahiro were none worse for wear, while Sasuke looked mildly tired. Harumi took a seat in front of a tree and relaxed, closing her eyes for a moment, trusting both Kakashi and Itachi would watch over them. She was suddenly so tired, it wasn't even funny. Must have been the back to back shifts at the hospital, not including the work she did in that village clinic two days ago. It didn't take long for the whispered conversations between the three boys to turn into a contest over something, and once the contest was realized, a contest was issued. Harumi sighed, and she buried her head further back into the tree behind her.

"Are children normally like this?" Itachi asked.

"I don't know why you are asking me, I skipped all of this," came the reply.

"It is good to see them acting like children though, isn't it?" Itachi asked, hesitantly.

"Yes," Harumi interrupted, "This is how children are supposed to act and yes, it is wonderful to see them acting like the children they are. It is important that they learn to play and be able to be children so that they have good memories to help combat the dark ones they will make as shinobi."

"Maa," Kakashi frowned, "like good memories could undo the bad things we have to do."

Harumi stared at Kakashi, "No, good memories are there to remind us _why_ we do what we do in the dark."

"We do what we do because it brings honor to our village, clan, and land," Itachi responded.

"WHAT?!" Harumi asked horrified, "We shinobi are the embodiment of the will of fire. Yes, when we complete missions, we bring honor to our village, but we are also doing it _for_ the village for the next generation, for those who can't protect themselves."

Both Itachi and Kakashi looked at her, although there is little change in their expression, Harumi can feel the confusion coming off of them.

"Blah!" she said as she jumped up, "Come on boys we are going to practice some jutsu and leave these two to think about things."

"What things Harumi-nee?" Naruto asked.

Harumi waved her hand like she was trying to brush the words away, "Just things, Naru-kun."

Masahiro leaned over and whispered loudly, "She says stuff like that when she can't think of a way to explain her thoughts to people."

"Hey now!" Harumi laughed as she pulled her little brother into a headlock, "No more out of you, or I will let Naruto pick the jutsus we will practice."

Masahiro laughed and struggled to get out of her grip, Naruto, being the helpful friend, he was pulling on his arm to free him. Sasuke watched from the other side of Naruto as Masahiro tried to speak but was laughing too hard to get more than a word out at a time.

Naruto looked over to Sasuke, "I am not strong enough, help?"

Sasuke nodded looked at Harumi's arm and quickly wrapped his fingers around her elbow and squeezed. Harumi squeaked and quickly let Masahiro go. Laughing she turned to look at Sasuke, "Good job Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke felt his ears warm at her praise. "Just for that, you get to choose the jutsu we practice first."

"Any jutsu I want?"

Harumi glanced at the two men watching them from the trees, "Well any jutsu that I know. Which does mean a lot of the clan jutsus are out. Normally we work on the jutsus that you would learn at the academy, or something similarly ranked. Although we could progress into D or C rank jutsus," Harumi was met with cheers, " _if_ you can show that you have mastered chakra control."

"Hn," Sasuke acknowledged her stipulation and thought about what he wanted to learn, Harumi-san said no clan jutsus, which made sense since she was not an Uchiha and would not know their jutsus, however she might know basic fire techniques. No, he discounted that thought, Sasuke wanted Itachi to teach him those techniques. What could he ask to learn?"

Harumi watched Sasuke think, knowing that this was the first time they had come to train together, Harumi decided to give Sasuke some ideas, "Well we have been working hard on chakra control, so the boys have been doing things like walking up trees and spinning leaves. However, they have also worked on Replacement, clones and…"

"Replacement training is the best!" Naruto interrupted.

"Hn?" Sasuke asked.

"Harumi-nee will throw things at us and we have to perform the replacement jutsu before we are hit," Masahiro answered.

"Throws stuff at you?" Sasuke asked that didn't sound fun at all.

"Sure," Naruto replied, "mud balls, water balloons, rocks and in the winter maybe snowballs. One time she threw sticks at us, but that didn't work so well because I would replace myself with the stick," Naruto rubbed the back of his neck slightly embarrassed, "But Harumi-nee said that was okay because I still avoided the stick."

"Can we do that?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course," Harumi replied, looking around. "We can do that here," Harumi reached into her hip pouch and pulled out a handful of senbons. "Rules are, you three can do whatever you want, and I will throw these senbons at you, if you successfully replace yourself before you are hit, you earn a point. If you don't, then you lose a point. The first person to ten chooses the next activity unless it takes to long, then it the person with the most points."

Sasuke looked at the senbons in Harumi's hand, slightly alarmed, glanced at Itachi who was watching the group intently.

Naruto gently pats Sasuke on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Harumi-nee won't throw them too hard. She says, 'I don't want to have to heal you because you were not moving fast enough,'" Naruto quoted. "Besides she loves us and won't _ever_ hurt us."

Harumi smiled, "Very true, Naruto," she waved Sasuke over to her, "See, these senbons have rubber on the tips so they will not draw blood, just bounce right off you if you get caught."

Sasuke frowned, "What is the point then?"

Harumi tilted her head to examine the Uchiha, nodding to herself she was gone in a swirl of leaves. From behind Sasuke, Harumi threw one of the rubbers tipped senbon at his back. Sasuke let out a small shout as it hit him, "It might not draw blood, but that doesn't mean it won't sting." Glancing at the other two boys, she nodded, "Okay, let's begin. Hmm, what to do?" Harumi tapped her chin with the senbons in her hand, "Oh how about some more katas. I will stand here while you do them. Easy right?"

"I am going to win!" Naruto shouted as he started his kata, keeping Harumi in front of him, "Believe it!"

Masahiro quietly followed Naruto's lead while Sasuke moved to the other side of the boys, so he would have some extra room between himself and Harumi to hopefully give him a slight advantage. At least that was his plan until with a flick of her wrist, she sent three senbons at all three of them, faster than Sasuke could follow, Naruto gave a yelp of pain as he wasn't able to do the jutsu fast enough, Masahiro and Sasuke were, however, Sasuke decided that he needed to be faster. Harumi walked over and picked up the senbons that she threw as the boys continued their exercises.

Masahiro stayed where he was after the replacement jutsu, however, Sasuke moved to be in a different area than the other two boys. Harumi smiled when she saw what they did. The boys created a triangle forcing her to not be able to face them all at the same time. It was a good strategy; however, Harumi was very good at throwing senbons. Harumi flicked both of her wrists and sent two senbons towards Naruto and Sasuke. This time both boys were able to successfully replace themselves.

This continued for the next twenty minutes before Kakashi moved over to where Harumi was standing. "Can anyone join?" he asked.

Harumi grinned as she threw another three senbons at the boys, slowly herding them into the same space. "Did you want to throw or move?"

"I think I would like to move," he answered walking over to a tree and pulling out a book to read. Harumi squinted at the title, it looked like a book on parenting.

"Itachi, did you want to throw some senbons for a minute?"

"Yay! Itachi-nii is the best shinobi ever!" Sasuke yelled.

Itachi gave a small smile and took the senbons Harumi held out to him.

"Itachi-san might be a good shinobi, but Kaka-niisan is the best!" Naruto shouted.

Harumi laughed as she walked over Kakashi, "What are you reading? This doesn't look like your usual reading material."

Kakashi nodded, "Hokage said I might find some useful information in here," he shrugged his shoulders.

Harumi nodded, "I read a couple of those after my parents died. Some of them were helpful, others not so much. These books were not written with shinobi in mind."

Kakashi casually dodged the senbon thrown at his head and frowned at the metal projectile, "Itachi, this doesn't look like it has a rubber tip on it."

Harumi took the senbon and walked over to where Itachi was standing, "That is because it doesn't."

Kakashi's eye widened, "Why not?"

"You are a fully fledged jounin shinobi, you should be able to perform an E-rank jutsu in your sleep. Now, remember, Kakashi-san, you have to use the body replacement jutsu, not just dodge them."

"Minus one point for Kashi-niisan!" Masahiro and Naruto yelled at the same time.

Moving to ensure that all of the players were in front of her, Harumi held out her hand to Itachi, in which were more senbons, "Did you want to throw some more?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke, who had a slight blush on his cheeks from his workout, but the smile Itachi saw in Sasuke's eyes lightened something in Itachi's chest. His brother was enjoying himself with other boys his age. Under the guise of training, Harumi was creating bonds between the three boys, currently, those bonds were a small rivalry, but could become something more. Itachi was concerned that Masahiro or Naruto would not accept his brother and Sasuke would be treated as an outsider again. However, that thought was thrown out the window when Naruto and Masahiro both started to yell and congratulate Sasuke when he did something good. Harumi also kept her praise equal among the three boys. There was hope, Itachi thought as he accepted the senbons from Harumi.

"So, the game has changed, boys. With the inclusion of Kakashi-san and Itachi-san, the goal is now to beat Kakashi, you three against him. Whoever has the most points at the end of ten minutes wins," Harumi decided.

More bonds, Itachi thought.

"Maa, why me?" Kakashi asked.

"You are a jounin shinobi, feared in all the great nations," Harumi replied, laughing, "you have an unfair advantage against the boys, even if one is a famed Uchiha, a Nara, and an Uzumaki, they are still in the Academy."

"So, it is us against Kakashi-san with you and Nii-san throwing stuff at us?" Sasuke asked.

"Sounds about right," Harumi replied as she threw more senbon at the four. Itachi immediately threw his senbon at them as they finished the replacement and landed somewhere else, making all four perform the jutsu again very quickly.

"Nice job," Itachi commented as the two walked over to collect their senbons. With a nod, Itachi and Harumi both threw senbons at two different sets of people.

"Ouch!" yelled Naruto as he got hit in the back, Sasuke and Masahiro were able to avoid their senbons while Kakashi was nowhere to be found but was successfully able to replace himself. Glancing around, Harumi recounted, "That is two more points for team Academy and one for Team Kakashi."

After the ten minutes were up, the final score was Kakashi ten points and the boys at nine points.

"Hey," Naruto shouted, "Kakashi should lose a point because he dodged instead of replacing himself."

Something flashed at the corner of her eye and without even thinking, Harumi threw herself between the thing she was and Naruto. The small object was too close to avoid, so moving her chakra her arms, Harumi braced herself for the sharp pain. A glance showed it was a kunai.

The sting of the wounds signaled the poison was making its way through her system. Focusing, Harumi did her best to isolate the poison from her body.

Kakashi and Itachi were gone, leaving Harumi with the three boys staring at her. Taking a deep breath and removing the kunai from her arm, Harumi pulled a set of bandages from her hip pouch to wrap around her arm, "Boys, come on, we need to move."

 **AN: The plot thickens. Sorry for the cliff hanger ending, but I really needed to end it there. You will see when the next chapter is posted, which is close to being finished because I ended up just making it into two chapters instead of one really long chapter. As always I would love to know what you think about this story. See you in two weeks :)**


	20. Chapter 20

Harumi opened her eyes in the hospital, feeling like she had been run over by Maito Guy, twice. Looking at the ceiling, she heard the low beeps of medical equipment and tried to figure out what they were monitoring. It was a safe and easy way to get her brain in gear before she thought about why she was in the hospital. She could hear the constant beeping, which Harumi decided was her heartbeat monitor, it was a little slow, but not to the point where she would be concerned. A low hum and then a squeezing pressure on her arm heralded the blood pressure machine. Keeping her breaths slow and even, she waited for the blood pressure cuff to deflate before turning her head to see the results. Nodding her head at the 'within normal parameters' result, she watched the line representing her heartbeat for a little while. The rhythmic beeping, along with that small thin line had Harumi's eyes getting heavier and heavier.

She blinked.

Sun was peeking through her window, through the curtains. A warm hand held hers. Confused, Harumi turned her head, it was much easier to this time. Maiko was holding her hand.

Swallowing to wet her dry throat, Harumi whispered, "Maiko-chan?" Her voice was scratchy, so she swallowed again, trying to wet her throat.

Maiko's head jerked up, "Nee-chan! You are awake!" Maiko stood up and walked over to the door and flagged down a passing nurse. Harumi watched as her sister pointed at the bed, shook her head and came back in with a smile. "I won't ask how you feel because I know you will not tell me the truth. However, the doctor will be here soon and he can ask you questions."

"Can I have some ice?" Harumi asked.

"When to doctor comes in, you can ask."

Harumi sighed and struggled to sit up. Maiko ran over to lift her shoulders and placed more pillows behind her to help prop her up better, Maiko let her eyes wonder over Harumi's face. She was paler than normal and her face showed some tension around her eyes and mouth, there were dark circles under her eyes and Harumi was weak, but the determined set of her jaw and the glint in her eye, showed that Harumi was not going to be down for long, if only because she was not going to stay in the hospital for long.

Maiko laughed, "You are already plotting how to escape, aren't you?"

"Of course, what else would I be doing?" Harumi laughed, coughing against the dryness in her throat again. "There is nothing worse than being stuck in the hospital where you work."

Before Maiko could say anything, the door to Harumi's room opened and the doctor came in. Harumi smiled at a doctor that she worked well with.

"Now Harumi-san, how do you feel?"

"My throat is dry, my whole body is sore, and my eyes are dry and I feel a little nauseous still," Harumi walked through her symptoms.

The doctor nodded and made a note in her chart. "Well it sounds like standard poison symptoms, let's get you some ice chips to start with ice chips and some rice crackers for the nausea. Would you like one of us to help with the soreness?" Setting the chart down, he ran his now green hand down her body, nodding at what he found, he picked up the chart and wrote in it. He then took all of the monitoring equipment off of her since she was awake now.

Harumi tilted her head as she thought about it, "Can I take a hot shower and see if I can get the kinks out that way first?"

The doctor smiled and nodded, "Of course, after you have some crackers and the nausea doesn't get worse, or if you start to feel dizzy."

Harumi nodded, "Of course."

"I mean it Harumi-san, the last thing we want is for you to fall down while taking your shower and hitting your head or something."

Harumi smiled, "I know, and I promise to behave."

Maiko nodded, "I will make sure of it."

The doctor nodded and made a couple more notes before turning around and walking towards the door, "I will have a nurse bring in some ice and the rice crackers. Your body has been through a lot in the last twelve hours Harumi, so you will need to move at a much slower pace than you think you do."

Harumi nodded. Maiko eyed Harumi carefully. The two of them waited for the nurse, thankfully they didn't have to wait long as the nurse came in with a sunny "Here you go" and placed a cup full of ice chips and a small bowl of rice crackers on the tray next to her bed. Maiko sat back down in her chair next to Harumi's bed. Harumi tipped the cup up and a couple ice chips dropped into her mouth. Letting them melt on her tongue, she greedily swallowed the cold water, the coolness slid down her throat, cooling the soreness and soothing the dryness.

"How long have I been here?" Harumi asked.

"You were brought to the hospital shortly after four in the afternoon suffering from a severe poisoning." Knowing what else her sister wanted to know Maiko continued, "The medical-nin have worked with you enough to know that you started the healing, but the poison was infecting you faster than you could heal it."

"I take it they were able to stop the poison from spreading?"

Maiko nodded, "Yes, but it was difficult."

"Is this something I should ask the doctor, imoto?" Harumi asked kindly.

"The nurses said you almost died nee-chan!" Maiko's eyes got very glassy as she bit her lip.

Harumi held out her arm, "Come here imoto," shifting over to one side of the bed, Harumi pat the empty spot. Maiko looked at the space undecided for a moment before climbing into bed with her sister. Gently pushing her sister's head onto her shoulder, Harumi placed her head on Maiko's. "I'm fine, Maiko. Almost doesn't count in the life of a shinobi. There only is and isn't."

Running her fingers through Maiko's hair, ignoring the warm patch of wetness seeping through her hospital gown. It only took a few minutes for Maiko to calm down, a kunoichi couldn't afford to be emotional for long, even if she was in a safe place. Maiko moved so that the two sisters were sitting side by side, touching from shoulder to knee. Harumi leaned over and took out a couple more ice chips to set on her tongue. Once they were melted, she picked up a couple rice crackers, her throat feeling much better with the ice.

"So, what has been going on since I came to the hospital?" Harumi asked around the cracker in her mouth.

"Well not too much, Hatake-san brought you to the hospital while Uchiha-san took Masahiro, Naruto and Sasuke to the Nara compound and quickly left. Then oba sent a messenger to get Hideaki and me, where she told us you were in the hospital. By that time, Hatake-san was missing from the hospital and the nurses informed us that you were seriously injured. After a couple hours, you were brought to this room, at that point Hideaki went to tell ototo and Naruto that you were fine and staying here overnight and I went home to get you a few things you would need. Nii-san stayed with the boys at oji's house while I stayed here with you. I am sure by now, nii-san is with his team while ototo and Naruto are at the Academy."

While Maiko was filling her in, Harumi continued to alternate ice chips and rice crackers. When Maiko was finished, Harumi had made it through a handful of rice crackers and over half of the cup of ice chips, which were melting so Harumi started to drink some of the water. Feeling the nausea fade, Harumi decided to try and stand up. Slowly swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Harumi was thankful that she was already sitting up, so she got to miss the head rush. Letting her feet dangle for a minute, she flexed her legs, ankles and feet, making sure they were all in working order. Then moving her hands to rest on either side of hips, she slowly pushed off the bed, setting her feet on the cold floor, Harumi frowned, she hated having cold feet. Keeping her hands firmly on the bed behind her, she took a few breaths, making sure that her legs could support her weight, she finally took an experimental step.

Maiko appeared next to her, Harumi shook her head and asked instead, "What did you bring from the house?"

Maiko nodded, understanding that weakness was not something to be shown, even around family members. Turning she walked over to a small black bag resting on the ground next to her chair. "I have some night clothes for you, some shampoo and body wash," holding up a pair of fuzzy slippers, "these because I know you hate cold floors and they should be easy to slip on and off before you hop into bed."

Harumi smiled, "I am going to leave the door ajar while I am taking a shower so that if I end up falling you can come and help me."

Maiko nodded again, "You should hurry, I am sure that the doctor has already told Hokage-sama that you are awake, and will either be here, or send someone to debrief you."

"Okay, so a fast shower it is," Harumi nodded as she took the bag and slowly walked her way over to the bathroom. Turning the water on as hot as she could stand it, Harumi was grateful for the ease of getting the hospital gown off, a few tugs on a couple strings and the whole thing slipped down her arms and onto the floor. Standing under the hot water, Harumi smothered a groan of appreciation as the hot water hit her sore muscles. Letting the spray hit her between the shoulders and running down her back, Harumi moved her arms to loosen them up. Deeming that the muscles wouldn't protest too much, Harumi quickly shampooed her hair, rinsed it out and took the body wash and gave herself a fast massage while washing any leftover dirt and sweat off her body. Standing under the still hot water, Harumi just let the hot water run over her shoulders.

Turning off the water and picking up the towel that there, Harumi started to dry herself off, with a knock before opening the door a little more, Maiko stuck her head inside the small crack, "Harumi, Hokage-sama and some ANBU are here for your debriefing."

Raising her voice just a little Harumi replied, "Thank you Maiko-chan, I will be out in just a moment." Quickly she finished drying off and slipped into the clothes Maiko brought. Her favorite black tank top, minus her bra and a pair of black shorts were put on. Taking her towel, she wrapped her hair up in a turban to keep the water from dripping down her face. Looking in the mirror she frowned, she still looked worn out, but nothing she could do about that now, so she took a breath and walked into her room.

She stopped after a couple steps into the room and bowed slightly, pretty sure she would fall on her face if she tried a deeper bow, "Hokage-sama, ANBU-san. What would you like to know?"

Sarutobi gestured to her bed, "Please sit down, Shikaku-kun will be very upset if his most precious niece were to fall down."

Harumi slowly, but steadily walked back to her bed, slowly she sat down, in a completely controlled manner because flopping down would show too much weakness. Slipping her feet under the sheets, she pulled them up to her waist as she rested her back against the headboard. Sarutobi looked at Maiko, while Harumi was getting settled and nodded to the door, Maiko bowed, walked over to her sister and pulled the covers up to her shoulders and gave her a hug, "I'll be right back, I am going to check on otouto and nii-san. Do you want me to get you anything?"

"A hoodie, a shawl or something would be nice. Also, maybe that book on my nightstand?" Harumi laughed softly, "I might actually be able to finish it."

"Hai," Maiko replied with a smile before she slipped out the door.

Sarutobi sat down in the chair Maiko had been sitting in, "Now Harumi-kun, please tell me what happened."

Harumi took a moment to gather her thoughts, she had deliberately didn't think of anything but what she was doing right at that moment. "Hatake-san, Uchiha-san, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun and Masahiro-kun and I were finishing up a game to teach the boys how to use the body replacement technique when in a combat situation. Uchiha-san and I were throwing rubber tipped senbon at the boys and live senbon at Hatake-san. Naruto-kun was in the middle of explaining why it wasn't fair that Hatake-san got one extra point when a kunai was thrown across the small field we were in. After establishing the trajectory, I quickly body flickered between Naruto-kun and the kunai. Hatake-san and Uchiha-san both took off after the person who threw the kunai. Sasuke-kun and Masahiro-kun ran over to me, which allowed the four of us to move over to a more defendable position.

"Once we arrived there, I checked the boys for any wounds and quickly bound my wound to avoid using any chakra I might need later. After a short time, I started to feel nauseous and I had a difficult time breathing. I was quickly able to determine that I had been poisoned, so I started to force more white blood cells to be produced, while also slowing down my heart rate to slow the spread of the poison. Some time later, I am not sure, I was wholly focused on staying conscious and protecting the boys, Hatake-san and Uchiha-san came to our location. I am not sure what happened after that, it is all very fuzzy," Harumi finished. Picking up her cup of melted ice, she took a sip and waited for the questions to begin.

"Why did you put yourself between Naruto-kun and the kunai?" the ANBU in the cat mask asked.

"Naruto-kun is a child and was in danger. We have been working for over an hour and I was sure he was tired. I am an adult and have more stamina and I also have more experience than an academy student does."

"Why didn't you just let Naruto perform the body replacement jutsu that you had been practicing?" the ANBU in dog mask asked.

"Naruto-kun had the worse score for the body replacement jutus, he kept waiting too long to perform it, also, with no idea if there were more than one assailant, I didn't want to risk Naruto-kun getting closer to someone else," Harumi quickly ate another cracker, hoping that the nurse would let her have something else soon, because she was getting hungry.

"Hatake-san and Uchiha-san are both competent shinobis, why didn't they intervene?" Cat asked.

Harumi shrugged, "You would have to ask them, ANBU-san."

"If you had to guess?" Cat prompted.

"If I had to guess, it would be because I am a medical-nin, therefore can easily heal any injury taken while interrupting the path of the kunai. Also, both Hatake-san and Uchiha-san are better at tracking than I would be and apprehending the person who threw the kunai and assessing if there was more danger, would be a better use of their skills."

"The place you described as better defensible, how did you know it was there?" Dog asked.

"The training ground we were using was one that I have used often, from when I was also an academy student training with my parents all the way up through off duty training with Nara Shikaku and his friends. Because of this, I know the area well, this area is one that my to-san taught me how to make traps for defending myself while on a mission, it is also where I helped my siblings with the same skill."

"While you were treating yourself, did you have any idea what the poison was?" Sarutobi asked.

Harumi shook her head and swallowed her cracker, "There are many poisons that induce nausea, weakness and difficulty breathing, in fact most start off with those symptoms. However, the treatment for most poisons can be supplemented by a healthy immune system, so by forcing my white blood cells to increase I was boosting what my body needed to combat the poison. It wasn't ideal, especially when I had no way of knowing what the poison was or what damage it was going to cause, but it was the safest way to ensure that I stayed alert and aware of potential danger."

"Do you have any idea who would have cause to attack any in your group?" Sarutobi asked.

"I can't speak for Uchiha-san or Hatake-san, as for myself, I can't think of anyone in the village, I am but a medical-nin. However, there are a few people outside the village who do not like that I am proficient with poison and would prefer that I stopped making antidotes."

"I need a list of those people," Sarutobi replied.

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Harumi replied.

Standing up, Sarutobi patted Harumi's leg, "Rest and get well, Harumi-kun, you gave your family a scare. I will send someone by to pick up that list before dinner." Walking to the door, he was followed by the two ANBU. Harumi caught a glance of Hideaki standing outside her door and called out, "Come in otouto."

Hideaki walked in and stood next to her bed, "You scared us, nee-chan."

Harumi nodded, "I know."

"Masahiro had another nightmare last night."

Harumi nodded again, "Was he able to go back to sleep?"

"He was," Hideaki replied. "Should I bring him here after the academy?"

"I would like that, I should be looking better by that time." Harumi continued to stare at her brother. His face was drawn and he stance was ridged. Harumi slipped her legs off the bed and pat the spot next to her. Hideaki grunted, but sat down next to her and she slid her arm around his shoulder. "I am sorry for scaring you otouto."

"It is the life of a shinobi, we live, we serve, we die," he repeated.

"Yes, it is."

"You are a medical-nin. You are not supposed to die on a mission. You are supposed to save people!"

"That is true also."

"You have no idea how I felt when oba told me that you were in the hospital, injured during some training. Masahiro-kun was crying that you were dying and Naruto-kun said that Kakashi-san had to run super fast to get you to the hospital."

Harumi stayed silent, Hideaki needed to get this off his chest, the fear was a thing all of them had to struggle with. Getting hurt to the point she was in the hospital, even that they needed to keep her in isolation while they worked on her, would be Hideaki's biggest fear in living color.

"How could you do this to me?"

"We are shinobi, we live, we serve, we die. If we are lucky our deaths will be for the good of Konoha. If we are very lucky, our life and death will confirm the Will of Fire for those around us," Harumi whispered.

Hideaki shifted, and Harumi let her arm fall from his shoulders, "How would I explain this to Masahiro, Harumi?"

"I died to save his friend, so that Masahiro and Naruto could grow up and become the next heroes of Konoha." Harumi smiled softly, "The same way I explained tō-san and kaa-san's death to you and imoto. However, I am alive, otouto. No need to worry about what might happen. Everyone is safe and whole. It was a good day, all things considered."

Hideaki's breath left his mouth in a disgusted grunt, "Easy for you to say."

"Of course, I have been doing this longer than you have, and my measuring stick is a simple one. We are all safe, it was a good day." Harumi slowly stood up, "Now, I am sure you have things you need to do. Your sensei is not going to let you hang around the hospital all day with your nee-chan. Go do what you need to do, bring Masahiro with you after school. Naruto if Kakashi-san gives you permission. Also, if you could get word to Katsu-san and Tamotsu-san that I am fine, I would appreciate it."

Hideaki smiled and nodded as he rose from the bed and walked towards the window. "I will see you in a few hours, get some rest."

"Yes kaa-san," Harumi teased, watching her brother slip from the room through the opened window into the morning air.

Sighing, Harumi slowly began a very basic kata, designed to help stretch her muscles and loosen her joints. Biting her lip to contain her groan of pain as she slowly brought her hands together in front of her. This is one of the first katas she had ever learned, she was able to walk, so she must have been three or so. Her mother woke her up in the morning and before she could have breakfast, she learned this kata. It focused on keeping your balance, so there were lots of one-legged turns, staying upright while doing some arm movements. All in all, a fairly simple kata, but for the purpose of getting herself moving, it was perfect.

Harumi had made it half way through the twelve-movement kata when there was a knock on her door. "Come in," she called, keeping herself balanced on one leg, while bending over with her other leg stretched out behind her. Maiko walked in with some things in her hands. Harumi couldn't make out what was there, so she concentrated on her balance, after counting to ten slowly, Harumi lowered her leg and slowly stood up straight.

"I saw a nurse on my way in and she said that breakfast would be served in a little bit. She will bring it to you, along with some more ice chips and tea." Setting down her burden, Maiko took out a hair brush and waved it in the air, "Sit down and I will brush your hair." Harumi moved to the chair and sat down, feeling better, not completely better, but better none the less. Maiko quickly ran the brush through Harumi's hair, once all of the tangles were out, Maiko quickly braided Harumi's hair. "There, now it will dry and be all curly."

"Why do I want my hair curly?"

"Because it is cute, and you don't have to worry about pulling you hair up out of your face while you are on medical leave."

The nurse walked in with a tray full of food, smiling at the two women, she quickly set the tray down and took the empty cup and bowl out.

"Is there anything in my chart about when I will be able to go home?" Harumi asked.

The nurse took looked at the chart, "It just says to wait until the attending doctor releases you," shaking her head she stopped Harumi's complaints, "The doctor will be doing rounds after breakfast. I am sure if you can prove that you can keep your food down and that there is no lasting damage to your body, that he will let you go."

"Who is attending today?"

"Yakushi-sama," the nurse replied.

Harumi smiled, "Thank you."

"You are welcome, be sure to eat all that you can, you need to get your strength back."

"Thank you, I will," Harumi smiled again as the nurse closed the door. Slowly standing up, she walked over to the bed and laid down again. "I am going to eat and read some, and rest. Feel free to go and work on D-ranks or whatever while I do this."

Maiko scowled, "Are you kicking me out?"

"Of course, imoto, I need to rest and I won't be able to do that if you are hovering over me."

"Well fine then, see if I bring you anything else!" Maiko teased.

"Love you too, imoto. Go and come by when you are finished. Hideaki is bringing otouto over after the academy. Maybe we will send him to get some mochi while we wait."

"I like it!" Maiko leaned over and placed her cheek against Harumi's cheek. "See you in a few hours nee-chan." Maiko slipped out of the window and disappeared into Konoha.

Harumi laughed softly to herself before taking the cover off of her food tray. There was a small bowl of soup, some more rice crackers, some tea and water. Lifting the cover on the small plate, she found some broiled fish and a small mound of rice. "Well it looks like they have all of their bases covered in the event I was still feeling nauseous," Harumi muttered to herself. Quickly eating the soup, Harumi decided to try a little of the rice and fish. After a few minutes, she quickly ate the rest of the food before her. She leaned back and started to sip her tea, letting the warmth comfort her. Pulling the cloth bundle closer to her, Harumi slowly unknotted the fabric and smiled when she saw what was inside. One of her favorite zippered hoodies and the book from her bedside table, along with the next book in the series. The fabric used to make the bundle was a light purple wool material, designed to be light but warm. It was shawl, a gift from her parents before they died. Tō-san found the fabric while on a mission and brought it back, while kaa-san sewed the shawl, added a couple buttons to ensure that Harumi had her hands free if needed.

Harumi set the shawl and hoodie off to the side, she also put the book on the table next to the breakfast tray and pushed the table away from the bed. Then sliding down further into bed, Harumi covered her head, letting the exhaustion finally surface and show in every part of her body. Taking a few shallow breaths, because it still hurt to breath, she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.

A cold air blowing on her face and a light shining on her eyes woke her up. Blinking, she looked into the face of Yakushi Nonō, one of the head medics in the hospital, one of Harumi's superiors. Nonō smiled at Harumi's expression.

"Time to wake up and let me fully examine you, Shimizu-san. I know you don't want to be here any longer than you need to," taking a moment for Harumi to get herself in a more comfortable position on the bed, Nonō quickly sent chakra to her hand and slowly passed it over Harumi's body, pausing momentarily at over her chest and abdomen. "Well it looks like everything is healing well, you still have some damage to your lungs and your intestine, however that should clear itself up in another day or two, especially once you replenish your chakra. It looks like your chakra is still very low, considering how long you slept, but since you were close to depletion, it is not to be unexpected." She wrote down her findings, looking as some of the notations made by the other nurses and doctors. "It looks like your nausea has passed. If your chakra continues to restore itself, I am comfortable with you going to home tomorrow, however if you reserve are not building themselves back up, there might be a bigger problem."

Harumi nodded.

"Good, now that that is done," Nonō set the chart down and stared at Harumi with hands on her hips, "What were you thinking child?!"

Harumi slowly sat up in bed and shrugged her shoulders, "I wasn't."

"Obviously!"

"But the boys are safe and that is what matters to me," Harumi defended herself.

"Yes, that is a good thing, however I am talking about how you almost brought yourself to the point of chakra exhaustion because you were not trying to kill the poison, you just used your chakra to create hyperactive white blood cells, without knowing if the poison would attack anything that the white blood cells could fix! Those white blood cells could have attacked your perfectly good cells and caused more damage!"

"It was an educated guess on my part, yes. But my thought process was that if the poison was too busy being attacked by the white blood cells, then it wouldn't have time to kill me," Harumi jokingly replied.

"Baa!" Nonō spat, throwing her hands in the air, "I am not even going to dignify that with an answer, however I will tell you not to do it again! You know this."

"Hai, Yakushi-sama. I promise I will not make those hyperactive white blood cells again."

"Now go back to sleep if you can, if not just rest. Don't try to get up and move unless you have too. I would tell you to stay in bed, but since I know that will not happen, at least limit yourself to not moving too fast or too far, and no exercise, just stretching movements to continue to combat the soreness in your muscles."

"Hai, Yakushi-sama." Harumi replied.

"I am sure your brother will be here as soon as he can, so you need to rest up as much as you can so that you don't look as sick as you do now," Nonō waved a hand towards Harumi's face. "I am only here for the next hour or so, then I am going back to the orphanage. Make sure you stop by while you are on leave."

Harumi watched as the medic left, closing the door behind her. Glancing out her window, she saw that the early morning had passed quickly, and it was approaching lunch time. Deciding that she wanted to sit in the sun, Harumi slowly got out of bed, even as her body protested the movement. Moving the chair closer to the window, Harumi walked back over to pick up her book and her shawl. Curling up in the chair, with the sun and a slight breeze warming her, Harumi's eyes swept over the words and quickly she got lost in the story.

Time passed, and a nurse brought in a lunch tray, filled with similar food from breakfast, all of it considered light enough for a recovering body, but full of the nutrients that are needed to heal the body. The soup was more of a noodle soup, with steamed vegetable buns, some broiled fish and a few cookies on the side. Adding the fish to the soup, Harumi quickly ate her food. She then got up to move around the room, stretching her arms and legs. Sitting on the floor she did a few stretches, not pushing as far as she normally would, but let gravity create the stretch.

While she was in the middle of a wide-legged stretch, there was a knock on the door, laying her head on the floor she called out "Come in."

 **AN: Here you go, sorry this took so long to update, but real life reared it's ugly head and I had to go and fight it back into it's box. I think it is good there for a bit. Thank you all to the new reviews, likes and follows, you are the reason I keep doing this. Let me know what you think, and I will see you all again in 2 weeks, or less if I can keep real life contained.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Standard "I don't own anyone" disclaimer. I just claim Harumi and her family.**

Kakashi opened the door at the call and walked in to see Harumi on the floor, her legs spread in a v and her upper body laying on the floor with her elbows propping her up. Kakashi watched as she smiled and slowly sat up, bringing her legs together as she moved them to her side. Her movements were much smoother and more graceful than they had been that morning, she must have been stretching her muscles out more. It made sense, after all when he brought her to the hospital, her body was so ridged like she refused to move a single muscle after she curled up when he picked her up.

Kakashi gave her an eye smile as she sat there, "I just came to see how you are doing, Harumi-san."

"Please drop the Harumi-san, we know too much to be stuck on formality, it is -kun, -chan or nothing at all."

"Sure," Kakashi responded, not sure what else to say. He stood in the middle of the room, his hands in his pockets, his slouch in full slouchiness. The silence stretched out before it could get too uncomfortable, damn it, he was supposed to be a genius, why couldn't he think of anything to say! Stop staring at her, damn it! Where was his self-control? Where was his normal perfect tool attitude?

Harumi stood up, Kakashi's eye tracked her to the bed where she picked up a hoodie from the table next to the bed. Slowly, she put one arm in and the other, then she zipped the front up half way. The sleeves were short enough that it didn't cover the bandage on her right arm but were long enough to cover most of her upper arm. Kakashi was struck by how much purple Harumi wove into her clothes. While he mostly saw her in blacks and grays, there was always some purple somewhere, this hoodie was no exception. It was black with a dark purple lining and hood.

Harumi sat down on the bed and tilted her head, Kakashi could feel the questions coming off of her as he stared. Breaking eye contact he wished that he brought a book with him, then he wouldn't be forced to make eye contact.

Harumi sighed, "Good morning Kakashi. I am feeling much better thank you."

Kakashi swallowed, feeling like he was being reprimanded, "That is good." Now, what would a normal person say? Yelling at her probably wouldn't work, especially since he was not supposed to know that she pushed herself to the point of chakra exhaustion while trying to heal and protect the boys. Oh yes, now he remembered, "I wanted to thank you for protecting Naruto."

Harumi waved her hand, "You don't need to thank me, I did what anyone else would have done. Besides I was the most qualified to protect, while you went hunting down the person who threw the weapon." Harumi shrugged, "It is a good division of labor I think. Good teamwork."

"Yeah, teamwork," Kakashi repeated. Is this where he tells her that he wasn't thinking about teamwork but the thought of a hunt? That he wasn't even thinking but reacting. "So, when you do you think you will get out of here?"

"The doctor said tomorrow if my chakra reserves start to come back."

"When will Masahiro-kun come to visit?"

"I asked Hideaki to bring him after the academy this afternoon. I figured Masahiro will need some time for reassurance before he goes to sleep. I am hoping that Hideaki can bring some food, but the nurses are not being very open about the types of food the doctor is allowing me."

"What food are you hoping for? I can sneak some food in," Kakashi offered. That was a normal thing to offer, right?

"I was hoping for some spicy pork ramen, I have been craving it for a little while and was going to make it for dinner last night, but well…" her voice trailed off. Kakashi watched as she fiddled with her earrings before lacing her hands together in front of her.

"If you want ramen, how about Ichiroku's?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Harumi smiled brightly. Kakashi blinked, her smile was genuine, and it erased the fatigue lines on her face.

"Would it be okay if Naruto came with me to drop off the ramen?" Kakashi was hesitant to let the boy out of his sight for long, in fact, if it wasn't for the ANBU standing right in the room with Naruto at the academy, not to mention Bull sitting at Naruto's feet, Kakashi wouldn't be standing here.

Harumi nodded her head again, "Of course, absolutely, bring Naruto. I want to make sure that he is doing okay after yesterday. Hideaki said that both Naruto and Masahiro had nightmares last night."

Kakashi nodded, he was in the room next to Naruto and Masahiro when Naruto's screams alerted him of the nightmares. Kakashi was able to quickly quiet Naruto down, but the sounds did have Masahiro wake up from his own nightmare, which caused Hideaki to enter the room too. Kakashi decided it was too crowded in the small room, so he quickly took Naruto over to his room and the boy went back to sleep. Kakashi stayed awake, trying to figure out how he missed the assailant. How did he make such a rookie mistake by not noticing a new chakra signature?

"If Naruto is anything like Masahiro, all he will really need is the assurance that I'm just fine and he will bounce back to normal," Harumi continued, not knowing the direction of Kakashi's thoughts.

Kakashi blinked, and brought himself out of the memories, "That should work. Does this happen often?"

"Not with me," Harumi shrugged, "but the first time any of us got hurt, Masahiro did the same thing. It is only natural for his age, I guess."

Kakashi watched as Harumi stood up from the bed and walked over to the chair next to the window. She picked up a book and walked back to the bed.

"You are welcome to sit down, Kakashi," she said as she leaned against the headboard. "I promise I won't try to ask you too many questions."

Kakashi eye smiled, but his mouth didn't move under his mask, "Maa, what kind of questions are you going to ask me?"

Harumi stared at the one-eyed man for a moment, noting that he was stiffer than before, no longer the loose-limbed laziness, but more of a forced laziness. "What happened after you took off after the assailant? How long after the initial attack until you found us? What happened after I passed out?"

"Well, after I saw you throw yourself in front of the kunai, I ran in the direction it came from, I didn't find anyone there, but I could smell them. Since my sense of smell is better than average, I was able to follow it for a little while before it disappeared. Then I summoned one of my ninkin with better tracking skills than mine and we were able to follow the scent further. When that finally ran out, Itachi and I searched for any signs of the attacker while I sent my ninkin to find Naruto and to make sure that all of you were safe. Pakkun came back quickly and said that you were in very bad shape. So Itachi and I ran to your location. Itachi shushined the boys to the Nara compound because it was a closer while I ran with you to the hospital. After handing you over to the doctors there, I found Shikaku and told him what had happened, while Itachi continued the search. Shikaku said that he would take care of all three boys until word would be sent to the Uchiha compound, and then I went to find Itachi, where we were until very late. We lost the trail near the border of the Land of Rain."

"Who would try to kill Naruto from the Land of Rain?"

"I don't know," Kakashi's voice was surprising flat during the entire report because that was the only word to describe the retelling. It was robotic, not a single emotion came through, not even an eyebrow twitch.

"Does this have to do with your information gathering?"

"Unknown."

"Well, how about the man in an orange mask, wasn't he from the Land of Rain?"

Harumi watched as Kakashi reacted, not that he stiffened because he was already too stiff for that, but almost like his body became electrified. "The man in the orange mask?"

Harumi nodded, "Yes, the one we heard was recruiting people from all over the world to join his disciples. Preaching about the new world he was going to create."

Kakashi nodded slowly, the pieces slowly coming together. The rogue Uchiha, the masked man preaching about a new world and recruiting not only ordinary civilians but also S-Ranked nuknin, the attacks on Naruto, the one thing they all have in common was the Land of Rain. Kakashi slowly turned around, "I have to go, Harumi-chan. I will remember your spicy pork ramen and Naruto this evening. Do you know how long your brothers will be here?"

Harumi shook her head, "I am not sure, but they should leave some time before dinner, especially if they are staying at the Nara compound."

"Okay, well I will see you later then." Kakashi quickly walked out the door.

Harumi sat there, slightly confused, she said something that caused Kakashi to become very upset, the killing intent flared after she mentioned the Land of Rain. Something big was going on, and she knew some, but not enough to make any conclusions. This was going to drive her crazy because it was a puzzle, and Naras loved puzzles. Pointedly she shrugged away the thoughts of the puzzle and picked up her book again. She needed to ensure that her chakra was replenishing so that she could go home. As much as she loved working in the hospital, it was awful being a patient, especially since she knew the nurses and doctors not to mention the fact that she knew what needed to be done. But the reason they kept her here was to ensure that she didn't ignore orders.

Sighing, she unzipped her hoodie and tried to read her book. Unable to get lost in the story while her mind was crowded with different theories and ideas as to what the Land of Rain, the masked man, and Naruto all have in common. Harumi decided to meditate for a little bit, maybe that would help her clear some theories out of her brain, or at the very least make them clearer and fewer half thoughts. Moving off the bed, Harumi opened her window up wider, letting more of the fresh air in, then moving to the patch of sun on the floor, she slowly lowered her body to the floor, crossing her legs in front of her, she slowed her breathing.

In

Out

In through her nose.

Out through her mouth.

Slowly her heart rate slowed.

Slowly her mind cleared of all her jumbled thoughts.

Slowly all she could hear was the sound of her breathing.

In

Out

Harumi used her chakra to observe what was happening in her body. The chakra infused white blood cells were completely gone, her body was healed. Her chakra coils were sluggish, but the chakra was noticeable in her body. There was still some damage to her lungs, but that was healing as her chakra continued to replenish and speed up her natural healing. The damage to her muscles were completely gone. She was well on her way to being fully healed.

Opening her eyes, Harumi saw that the sun had moved across the floor. It was almost time for Hideaki and Masahiro to be here. Standing up, Harumi felt more at ease, her thoughts had organized themselves into a more structured arrangement instead of scattered fragments. Knowing herself, Harumi knew she would be working on this puzzle for a long while until she was satisfied with the results. However, it would not be a sporadic musing, but a more focused thought process. The biggest question mark was how was Naruto connected to the Land of Rain. But in time she would figure that out also. After all, it was a big puzzle.

All of her information had been placed into different categories, Naruto, The Land of Rain, the Masked Man and the attack on Naruto. There was something that connected them all, something the Kakashi figured out. Not she could just let her mind sort through the problem in a logical fashion.

Stretching her arms and legs, Harumi picked up the shawl Maiko had brought and wrapped it around her shoulders. Now that the sun was no longer shining on her, the room felt slightly cold. She walked to the window and looked out over Konoha, saw how the sun shone brightly over the village. Causing the reds and yellows to shine bright, causing the greens to look greener. Harumi took a moment to dwell on the fact that she might never have seen this view again, before taking those thoughts and pushing them away. She was, after all a kunoichi, she couldn't afford to dwell on emotions.

While she was a woman who strove to be kind, it was only when she was at home, or in a hospital of some sort that she allowed that kindness to be shown. She learned from her kaa-san, kindness is something to be shared, but not at the expense of the mission. Harumi's priorities have always been Hokage, Konohagakure, then the clan. That is the real reason Harumi asked to be a full-time medic, she needed to not be in a position where she would be asked to put the mission in front of her siblings. She hadn't needed to for five years. Yesterday she put a mission in first, and while the outcome was not fatal, it could have been.

Harumi was not as troubled by the fact as she originally thought, in fact, the lack of being troubled bothered her more. But she decided, it was because if she had died, she did it for the right reasons, for the protection of the Village, but also the protection of Masahiro and Naruto.

Before Harumi could get too lost in her thoughts, there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, thinking it was Masahiro and Hideaki. She was surprised as she turned around to find Shikaku-oji, Yoshino-oba and the Clan head of the Uchiha clan and his family. Harumi's eyebrows raised slightly as she slowly dipped into a short bow. "Uchiha-sama, Oji, Oba, what a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe this honor?"

Yoshino walked straight over to Harumi and pulled her into a hug, "Brat, I was so worried when Naruto and Masahiro came yelling into my house about you dying."

Harumi returned the hug and rested her head on her aunt's shoulder for a moment. "I wasn't trying to die. I'm sorry I worried you."

Yoshino pulled out of Harumi's arms and held her at arm's length, looking over her for any signs of lingering injuries. Then she pulled Harumi into another tight hug before walking over to the bed where the medical chart was hanging.

Harumi looked at the three other adults staring at her, before turning her focus to Itachi and Sasuke. "Itachi-san, Sasuke-kun, I am so glad you two are safe and if Hideaki is to be believed, unharmed."

Sasuke glanced up at Itachi who nodded, then walked across the floor to Harumi, Harumi knelt down so that she was on the same level as him. "Thank you for saving me, Harumi-san," Sasuke said, his voice even as if he practiced the little speech.

Harumi grinned, "You are most welcome, Sasuke-kun."

"I'm sorry you are in the hospital," Sasuke looked around, "It looks boring."

"You are correct," Harumi laughed, "hospitals are boring, but they are a place where people heal, so it helps to have the patients concentrate on that."

Sasuke whispered, "Naruto and Masahiro were scared, when nii-san and Kakashi-san came back, and you fainted."

Harumi nodded, "I know, I am glad you were there to help them to not be as scared."

Sasuke smiled impishly, "How could I be scared, nii-san was there to protect us!"

"Speaking of your nii-san," Harumi slowly stood up, ignoring the protests of her knees, "Itachi-san, I wish to thank you for taking Masahiro and Naruto to the Nara compound, where Yoshino-oba could watch over them."

Itachi gave a small smile, "It was no problem. You would have done the same if our roles were reversed."

Shikaku stepped forward, interrupting the conversation, "Harumi-chan, Uchiha Fugaku wanted to thank you for ensuring the safety of Sasuke during the attack."

Harumi turned to Fugaku and bowed, "It was an honor for this humble medic to be trusted by both Hatake-san and Itachi-san to ensure the safety of their precious people and in turn, for them to ensure the safety of my precious otouto."

Fugaku's face remained impassive, however, he bowed his head, "If there is something you require that the Uchiha clan could provide, please do not hesitate to ask. We will do our best to ensure you get it."

"Of course, Uchiha-sama," Harumi bowed, rising slowly as her head felt very light. Harumi slowly moved to the bed and slowly sat down, trying not to fall down because of dizziness. Reaching for her glass of water, she slowly lifted the glass, noticing how her hand shook slightly.

Yoshino looked up from reading the medical chart and frowned, "Harumi-chan, should you even be moving around as you have been? It says that you are here because of chakra exhaustion and damage done to your organs from a poison."

Harumi stared at her aunt over the rim of her glass while taking a sip of water. Lowering the glass to the table in front of her Harumi replied, "I am following the doctor's orders exactly. I am to move only as I am comfortable with because the moving helps my muscles to relax, it also forces blood and oxygen through my body which helps to heal those organs."

"Yes, but are you sure this much moving is appropriate?"

Harumi was very proud of herself for not rolling her eyes, "Yes, it is, feel free to ask any of the nurses Yoshino-oba. I will be fine; the doctor says I should be able to go home tomorrow so long as I am showing signs of improvement."

"So soon?" Fugaku asked.

"Yes, since I am a medical-nin, it is better for my healing to not be in the hospital because if I am here, it is easier for others to come and ask for help, or for me to offer my help. At home, I can focus completely on healing and not doing my job."

"Makes sense, an active duty Jounin can't focus on recovering if they are constantly in the mission room," Shikaku said.

Harumi stifled a yawn, but Yoshino saw it anyway and turned to look at the group, "Let's go so that Harumi can rest, we have seen that she is well and the Uchiha's have given their thank you."

Shikaku shook his head but turned towards the door and muttered, "Troublesome."

Fugaku and his wife both bowed and turned to go, Itachi and Sasuke following after them. Finally, Yoshino walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Harumi flopped back on the bed, letting her head rest on the edge of the bed. Closing her eyes, she decided to take a nap until her two brothers came.

Feeling like it was just moments later, Hideaki and Masahiro walked into the room. Harumi heard Hideaki's admonishment to be quiet. Harumi forced her eyes to open and to sit up. Smiling she saw her two brothers near the door. Masahiro was holding a handful of flowers, while Hideaki was holding a small take-out box and a thermos in his hands.

"My otoutos!" Harumi called out, smiling.

Masahiro came rushing over to her and leaped into her outstretched arms, "Nee-chan! You are okay!"

Harumi hugged her brother tight, "Of course I'm okay."

"But you fainted!"

"It happens sometimes when your body is overwhelmed by something. But I didn't faint until after Kakashi-nii and Itachi-san arrived, right?"

"Well, yes."

"Then that means that I knew you three boys would be safe, so I let my body begin to take care of itself."

"So, you fainted because you needed to heal?"

Harumi nodded, "Yep. It is just like after a hard day of training you go to sleep early so that your body can heal from all of the training you did."

Masahiro nodded, "Are you sure that is all?"

Harumi shrugged, glancing at Hideaki who also shrugged, "Did you want to hear all of the medical stuff that happened?"

"No!" Masahiro shouts, shaking his head.

"Sshh, Masa-kun, not so loud," Harumi said.

His eyes fell to the floor and he frowned, "Sorry, nee-chan."

Harumi hugged him again and gently kissed his forehead, "Now what did you bring me?"

Hideaki walked over and placed the box and the thermos on the table, "Emi heard you were in the hospital and she went to that tea shop you like and got you some treats."

"And I got you flowers!" Masahiro shoved the flowers in Harumi's face.

Taking the flowers from her brother, Harumi stuck her nose in the arrangement and took a deep breath, "Mmm, these smell good. Thank you."

"Tamotsu helped too," Masahiro admitted.

Harumi smiled broader and gave Masahiro another squeeze, before shifting him the space on the bed next to her. "I am starving, Hide-kun, you must give Emi my thanks for this. Hospital food is very boring, nutritious and filling, but boring." Opening the box revealed four sticks of three colored dango, while the thermos held a very dark green tea, one of Harumi's favorites from that tea shop, but not something she drinks often due to the cost. "These look delicious, Masahiro, would you like some dango?"

Masahiro nodded and grabbed a skewer from the box Harumi held out to him. Harumi selected one and held the box out to Hideaki who waved it away.

"Now, Masahiro, tell me what you did in class?" Harumi asked as she took a sip of tea than taking a bite of dango.

 **AN: And there we go, we know who was at the door. I tried to open both Kakashi and Harumi's minds a bit more. Unfortunately Harumi's throughts remain more of a mystery to me, since she is not feeling up to explaining them to me. As always, let me know what you think, only if you want to.**

 **I am sorry for any grammer or spelling mistakes, this chapter wasn't beta'ed.**

 **Until next time :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other characters, just Harumi and her family.**

 **Meanwhile**

"Are you sure Harumi-nee said we could come and see her?" Naruto asked Kakashi as they walked down the road after parting ways with Masahiro and Hideaki.

"I talked to her this morning, Naruto. She is looking forward to seeing you," Kakashi answered.

"But why couldn't we go with Masahiro and Hideaki?"

"Because Naruto, she asked us to bring dinner," Kakashi was grateful for all of Naruto's questions because it kept him from thinking… no dwelling on what happened yesterday. Especially not to think of the consequences of Harumi working herself to the point of chakra exhaustion because of poison. And he was definitely not going to think about how his heart stopped when he saw her faint in Itachi's arms.

"Dinner?" Naruto asked excitedly. "What are you going to bring her for dinner?"

"Ramen," he replied waiting for the screeching to start.

"Yeah! I love ramen!"

Yep, there was the screeching. "Naruto, we can't go and see Harumi or get ramen if you haven't finished your homework. And," Kakashi continued as Naruto's lip poked out in preparation for a pout, "because of what happened yesterday, you are behind on your reading and calligraphy drills."

"Oh man! Those are boring, Kaka-nii," Naruto grumbled.

"Boring or not, these are skills you need to master Naruto, especially if you want to be Hokage."

"O-kay," Naruto sighed. "But after I am done, we can go and see Harumi-nee, right?"

Kakashi nodded, "Right."

"Alright!" Naruto jumped up and punched the air before running down the road to their home. Hokage had moved them into a larger two-bedroom apartment shortly after Kakashi had requested it. It was closer to the Hatake compound then Kakashi would have wanted, but it was better than being in the same building as the apartment where Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee had lived. Which was the first option Hokage had given him.

Following behind Naruto, up the stairs, this apartment took up one-quarter of the top floor. While Kakashi decided it was too much for just the two of them, in terms of security, it was great. ANBU could watch the place when he was out on a mission because of its location. Also, it allowed for easy entrance and exits if he needed it. Naruto was waiting at the door, bouncing in anticipation, waiting for Kakashi to unlock the door and undo the security seals on the door. Once done, Naruto rushed into the living area, leaving a trail of sandals and a jacket behind him.

Kakashi sighed and slowly bent over to pick up the trail and put them over by the door. Taking off his sandals, Kakashi walked towards the kitchen, to make some tea and to get a small snack for Naruto to eat while working on his homework. Grabbing some onigiri from the fridge, putting two on a plate and filling a glass with water, then taking the two over to the table, where Naruto was quickly working through his math homework. Kakashi noted that Naruto's penmanship had improved in the couple months he had been living with Kakashi. Also, his math skills have gotten better, instead of making many small mistakes, he was getting the correct answers more often than not.

The tea kettle whistling had Kakashi walking back into the kitchen and making himself a cup. Grabbing one of the remaining onigiri from the container, Kakashi took his tea over to the table where Naruto was working. Pulling out a book on poison jutsus, Kakashi quickly got lost in his reading. A frustrated sigh pulled him out of his reading though, Kakashi glanced at the source of the sigh and found Naruto holding a thin brush in his hand, held so that the ink does not drip on the paper in front of him, a look of intense concentration on his face, including the tip of his tongue poking out from between his teeth.

"Problem, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, setting his book aside.

Naruto waved his hand, not holding the brush, towards the paper, "I can't get that line straight," he let out a frustrated sigh. Kakashi stood up and looked over Naruto's shoulder. He quickly saw the area Naruto was talking about.

"Have you thought about using a larger brush?" Kakashi asked.

"Huh?"

"A larger brush, not the super-fine brush you are using now, would give you more room to make small errors, especially due to a hand trembling or a deeper breath."

"But how is that going to fix this?" Naruto asked, frustration coloring his voice.

"It won't fix it completely, but it will give you more time to see where an error could happen and fix it before it gets to be a large error."

"But Kaka-nii, why do I need to learn this?"

Kakashi sighed as he repeated, for who knows how many times before, "It does not good for you to write your mission reports if no one can read them. Also, if you need help or something, it is important for people to be able to read your writing."

"Yeah, but what does it matter if my line is not perfectly straight when I am writing?"

"Simply because if you can do it perfectly while in a safe location, like your home, at a time when you are not in a hurry, the muscle memory will be enough to keep your writing legible."

"Okay, fine. Can I have another onigiri? I am still hungry," Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded and ruffled Naruto's hair like he had seen Harumi do often before walking into the kitchen to get Naruto the rest of his snack and to put the tea kettle on for more tea. Glancing at the time, Kakashi called out, "We will leave here in twenty minutes so that we can pick up Ichiraku before we go see Harumi."

"Okay!" Naruto yelled before concentrating again on his calligraphy, only this time with a much thicker brush.

Kakashi sat the onigiri on the empty plate next to Naruto, took his tea over to where his book was and picked up where he left off. The book, however, did not keep his attention. Kakashi kept thinking about Harumi jumping in front of Naruto, turning to knock the kunai off track only too get a small scratch. Kakashi didn't even think but ran to the location the kunai came from, drawing out his own kunai. His entire body was tight, the way a spring was tight right before the trigger was pulled.

Kakashi could feel the excitement rushing through his body at the thought of the hunt.

The kill.

However, the hunt didn't last long, both Kakashi and Itachi lost their prey at the borders of Konoha. Before Kakashi could leave the borders of the village, Itachi reminded him that they both had academy students waiting for them and that Harumi was injured. Also, that they needed to inform the Hokage of their hunt.

Kakashi agreed, but he sent Pakkun to start tracking the scent.

Kakashi will never forget the feeling of horror when he realized that Rin stepped between him and his target. He will never forget the debilitating grief he felt when Minato-sensei died.

Kakashi is sure that seeing Harumi faint in Itachi's arms would be one of those memories. Running with her in his arms to the hospital, seeing how pale she was, how she wasn't breathing. Getting to the hospital and running to the nearest nurse, asking for help. Seeing the nurse blanch at the sight of Harumi, looking lifeless in his arms. Kakashi gently laid Harumi down on a bed before he was rushed out of the room, as more medical-nin came rushing in.

The bloodlust, the need for the kill was almost overwhelming as he stood outside the closed door. Quickly moving, Kakashi ran to the Hokage's office, barged in and quickly told Sarutobi what happened. ANBU and trackers were quickly dispatched, Team Ro in the lead. The anticipation of the battle was keeping Kakashi on edge.

It was good.

It was familiar.

Like an old shirt, well loved and exactly what you are looking for, even if the tag is still itchy.

With Kakashi in the lead, Team Ro quickly found Pakkun's trail, silently, quickly they followed. For an hour they followed the trail, only to have Kakashi call a halt and just as quickly everyone jumped out of the way of a shower of kunai and shuriken. One quick hand motion and the entire team was moving into position for their attack when their prey disappeared in a cloud of smoke. A frustrated Kakashi quickly ran towards Pakkun's trail.

Kakashi let out a frustrated yell when the trail went cold at the border of the Land of Rain, Itachi gave a frustrated "Hn" in return. The rest of Team Ro was leaning against trees watching as their leader paced back and forth, waiting for Pakkun to come up with something. All of their senses were on high alert, but they could find nothing. A noise had the entire team facing the threat, which turned out to be another hunter team. After telling Team Ro that they were to report to the Hokage and they were relieved of the hunt, the hunters crossed into the Land of Rain.

"All done, Kaka-nii!" Naruto's voice pulled Kakashi out of his thoughts.

Kakashi glanced at Naruto's papers and nodded, "Good job, Naruto, you are improving very quickly." Kakashi knew he got the tone correct when Naruto grinned. Kakashi decided that he was getting better at this whole being a normal person thing the Hokage forced upon him.

"Clean up your stuff, make sure to put your homework near the door. Make sure you wash your brushes thoroughly," Kakashi called a reminder as he slipped this book onto a table in the living room.

"Yes, Kaka-nii," Naruto sighed, picking up the brushes and bringing them to the kitchen sink.

Kakashi walked into his room, looking for a book to bring, he refused to let his reputation be ruined, but his current book had been around for about two months and he wanted to change things up a little bit. Trading the bright orange book for one with a red cover, Kakashi nodded to himself and slipped it into his vest.

"Almost done Naruto?"

"Almost Kaka-nii!" came the reply.

Nodding Kakashi walked through the apartment making sure that everything was put away. While he was by no means crazy about keeping the house clean, he liked to keep his space orderly, especially since one never knew when one would need something.

"Kakashi?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Should we get Harumi-nee-chan a gift?"

"I don't know, do you want to get her a gift?"

"I think we should, Tamotsu-sensei got her some flowers, so we can't do that."

"Well, she is in the hospital, what do you think a good gift would be?"

"Maybe something to do, like a game or puzzle?" Naruto offered.

"Well if we hurry, we can stop at the book shop and see if they have something she might like."

"Alright!" Naruto placed his brushes in the drying rack next to the sink and walked quickly, without tripping on anything, Kakashi was pleased to note, to the door and slipped his sandals on.

Kakashi slipped his sandals on and the two of them walk out of the apartment, Kakashi stopping for a moment to lock the door and reset the seals. Once that was finished, the two of them walked quickly towards Ichiraku's shop. Luckily for them, there was a book shop nearby, so they placed their order for takeout and walked over to the shop to get a present for Harumi.

Naruto walked straight over to the games and puzzle area, while Kakashi's eye was caught by the cover of a book on display. It was the book Harumi was reading when he stopped by earlier. Turns out it was the first in a series, while not a book Kakashi would normally read, it sounded interesting, so he picked up the second book to give to her. Really, Kakashi read all sorts of books, not just the Icha Icha series, it is amazing what a small henge could do on a book cover. He did have a reputation to maintain after all.

Naruto found a book full of logic puzzles and silly stories. "Do you think she will like it, Kaka-nii?"

Kakashi looked at the book, a glance through it told him that most of the puzzles were easy for him to solve, but after being around Shikaku for any length of time, you knew that a Nara loved puzzles so Kakashi gave Naruto an eye smile, "I think she will love it, Naruto."

"Great! Let's buy this, pick up our food and see Harumi-nee!" Naruto was back in high spirits, the moment of uncertainty over as quickly as it came.

Grabbing a small gift bag at the counter to put the two books in, Kakashi paid for the books and the bag and watched as the girl behind the counter wrapped the books in tissue paper and then slipped them into the bag.

"Here you go," She told them with a big smile. Naruto waved, grabbed the bag and took off out the door.

Kakashi followed at a slower pace and grinned as Teuchi has their order already for them. Naruto thanked Teuchi before telling him, "We are going to visit Harumi-san in the hospital because she got hurt saving me! I got her a book of puzzles, so she isn't bored."

Teuchi smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm, "I am sure she will love the book, I have yet to meet anyone related to the Nara family that didn't like a puzzle or two."

Naruto grinned and watched as Kakashi picked up their order, watching the food like a hawk, "Hurry, Kaka-nii!" Naruto cried as they ducked out of the ramen shop.

"There is no need to hurry, Naruto. The hospital is not going anywhere, and neither is the food," Kakashi replied.

Naruto slowed down and walked next to Kakashi, making sure to be between the food and other people. Kakashi found himself amused by Naruto's actions. The trip to the hospital didn't take long, so soon they were walking up the stairs to Harumi's room. Kakashi walked over to her door and, in a low voice said, "Now remember Naruto, there are other people in the hospital and they may be trying to rest, so you will need to remember to keep your voice down."

"Okay," Naruto whispered, which most people would call a slightly quieter inside voice, but for Naruto, it was a whisper.

Kakashi knocked on the door, instead of the "come in" he was expecting, the door opened revealing Hideaki. "Harumi invited us to share dinner with her because Naruto was worried," Kakashi explained.

Hideaki nodded, "She is making sure that each of us gets some one on one time with her. She is asleep right now, but you are welcome to come in and wait until she wakes up." Hideaki opened the door wider and Kakashi and Naruto walked in. Naruto was shocked to see Masahiro and Harumi laying on the bed.

Kakashi watched as Harumi's eyes slowly opened and swept the room. He saw when her blue eyes lit up at the sight of Naruto and Kakashi.

Harumi waved the hand not currently being squished by her brother and whispered, "Hi Naruto-kun it is good to see you!"

"Hi, Harumi-nee! Kaka-nii and I brought you a present and ramen from Ichiraku!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Today must be my lucky day, first I get a visit from the Hokage, then Maiko-chan brings me a book to read, then Masahiro brings me flowers and now you have brought me a present and ramen!" Harumi smiled and gave Naruto a one-armed hug. "Did you want to jump up here too?"

Naruto looked suspiciously at the bed before climbing up. Harumi shifted over to make room for the little boy. Putting her arm around him, she sighed and laid her head on top of his. Naruto stayed still for a few minutes before relaxing, this was the position that they had slept in while Kakashi was gone and Naruto would wake up from his nightmares.

"Do you wanna open your present?" Naruto asked.

"In a little bit, I just want to sit here and know that you boys are unharmed."

"But nee-chan," Masahiro said, having woke up when Naruto got into bed, "You got hurt!"

"I did, and I will get hurt again, but at least those I was protecting are unharmed. That is important to me Masa-chan. It means I did my job."

"But." Naruto started.

"No buts, as an older and higher ranking kunoichi than the three of you boys, it is my job to protect you. Kakashi-san and Itachi-san are better at tracking and attacking, I am better at dodging and protecting, so we did what we had to do and what we do best."

"You still got hurt," Naruto replied grumpily.

Harumi sighed and gave the boys on her bed another tight hug, "I did. But hurt is not dead, which means I will live to see another day. Focus on that, and not the hurt part."

"But I don't want you to get hurt," Naruto whispered.

"No one wants to get hurt Naru-chan, however, it is a part of being a shinobi. Masahiro sees this with his siblings coming back from training with cuts and bruises. The reason we train with real weapons and real force is not just so that we can learn and grow, but also so that we learn to continue the mission even when we are injured. Small cuts and bruises are easily healed when at home, which means we can spar for longer knowing that those injuries can become bigger injuries and it will be easy to fix. It is also a good way to judge a small hurt versus a larger, more life-threatening injury. All in order to prepare you for when you are not in the safety of the village."

Hideaki spoke up, "Masahiro, Naruto, don't look at Harumi's injury as a weakness. She made the correct choice, as is her right as a kunoichi. She sacrificed some blood and chakra to ensure your safety. Do not diminish or take lightly that sacrifice because you feel guilty or sad. She did what any shinobi of Konoha would do, protect the children."

Kakashi nodded, "This is the life of a shinobi, we live, we serve, and we die."

Naruto frowned.

Masahiro nodded, "I still don't like it."

"Then grow strong so that you can protect those precious to you, Masahiro," Harumi replied.

Hideaki decided that was enough and called out to Masahiro, "Time to go otouto, Maiko and Yoshino-oba should have dinner finished by now and you know how much Yoshino-oba hates to wait."

"Yes, Hideaki," Masahiro gave Harumi one more hug before hopping off the bed and walking towards the door. "See you tomorrow, Harumi-nee."

Harumi grinned, "See you tomorrow my otoutos."

With a final wave, the two Shimizu brothers walked out the door, closing it behind them. Harumi looked at Naruto and asked, "How was class today?"

Naruto filled Harumi in on all the horrors of learning, the dreaded math assignment that he had to bring home for homework because he just couldn't figure out how to get the correct answer. Kakashi slipped out of the room and got another chair and a small table and set out everyone's ramen. Harumi pulled the small table tray thing closer to her bed and sat up in the bed.

While Naruto was finishing his tale of the horrible math problem, Kakashi pulled Naruto over to his bowl of ramen and let Harumi have the bed to herself. Harumi smiled her thanks to Kakashi and mouthed _itadakimasu_ before breaking her chopsticks and taking a small bite of the pork.

When Naruto took a breath, Harumi looked at Kakashi and said, "Thank you for the ramen, this is exactly what I needed today."

Naruto perked up and replied around a mouthful of noodles, "Don't forget to look in the bag."

"Of course, I won't, but not until after I finish eating."

Naruto nodded and then continued to talk about his day. Thankfully Masahiro had already filled her in on what happened at the academy, most of which were perfectly normal stuff, so Harumi was able to focus on eating her food.

Setting her bowl aside she closed her eyes, "Mm, that was delicious, Kakashi. Thank you for dinner."

Kakashi smiled at her so widely that Harumi was able to see the smile through his mask. She was insanely happy that she was able to provoke such a response.

Naruto jumped up for the table and shoved the gift bag at Harumi again, "Open it!"

"Of course."

Kakashi watched as Harumi slowly untied the ribbons holding the bag closed, then she reached in and pulled out the two books wrapped in tissue paper. Setting the bag aside, she then slowly unwrapped the first book. Kakashi watched as Naruto became more and more impatient, his body vibrating with excitement and impatience. Kakashi suspected that Harumi knew this because she looked over at Naruto and stopped unwrapping the first book, set it to the side and picked up a cup full of water and took a drink.

When Naruto sighed, "Come on!" Harumi laughed and dragged him into a one-armed hug before picking the book up and unwrapping it faster this time. Kakashi found himself smiling as she made a fuss over the two books.

"Oh, thank you, Naruto. I will be very pleased for this when I am at home recovering and the house is quiet with everyone gone for the day. I can sit out in the garden and drink my tea while I figure these out. Added bonus," at this she gave Kakashi a smile, "I can use these puzzles as an excuse to avoid playing shogi with Shikaku-oji."

Harumi was just as excited and thankful when she opened the other book. "I was getting close to the end of the first book and now I don't have to wait to start the next one. Thank you so much, Kakashi, Naruto-kun. These are perfect gifts."

Kakashi got a warm feeling in his chest, for a minute he was concerned that he ate his food too fast and was experiencing heartburn, but he quickly realized it was the same warm feeling he got when Harumi walked out of the bathroom this morning, when he realized that she was going to be just fine. It was an emotion, something that wasn't related to the hunt or missions. Filing this feeling away to examine later, Kakashi watched as Harumi and Naruto worked through the first logic puzzle. From what Kakashi could remember, it was a very easy one, designed to slowly ease the person into how to do this type of puzzle, however, Harumi was very patient and let Naruto make most of the decisions regarding the solving of the puzzle.

An hour later and visiting hours were over and it was time to go home. Naruto had successfully solved two logic puzzles and Harumi was able to give him some advice on how to solve his math problems. Kakashi took the extra chair and table back to the empty room he stole, no borrowed them from.

"Say goodnight, Naruto. The nurses and doctors are kicking us out," Kakashi interrupted as Naruto started to bug Harumi about starting a new puzzle. "And if you did all of the puzzles for Harumi, how is she going to be able to avoid playing shogi with Nara-san?"

Naruto looked abashed and quickly stopped bugging Harumi about the next logic puzzle and stood up. Harumi waved him over and gave Naruto a breath-stealing hug, "I hope you sleep well Naruto."

"You too Harumi-nee," Naruto replied.

"Would you like us to pick up Masahiro tomorrow morning?" Kakashi asked it would be the correct thing to ask, right? These damn rules and normal people expectations. Kakashi was not good at this! But thankfully Harumi figured this out or at least was told this because she smiled at him.

"I think Maiko has it covered for tomorrow, I will let you know if I need to take you up on that offer after I get out of the hospital tomorrow."

"Okay," Kakashi said. Then not knowing what else to say he gave her an eye smile and waved, "Good night, Harumi. I hope you get out tomorrow."

Harumi laughed quietly, "Good night, Kakashi. I do too."

Kakashi walked out of the hospital and together Naruto and he walked back to their apartment. Once they were inside, Kakashi reminded Naruto, "Pajamas, brush your teeth and read for thirty minutes. Lights out right after."

"Yes, Kaka-nii," Naruto said in the voice that every child has used when ever they heard the same lecture again and again.

A few minutes later, Kakashi heard Naruto moving around in his room, before settling in for the night. After the nightmare last night, Kakashi wouldn't be surprised if Naruto fell asleep soon. True to his prediction, Kakashi walked in twenty minutes later and found Naruto asleep with his panda hat on his head and a book resting on the pillow next to him. Kakashi took the book and set it on the nightstand next to the bed and turned around to turn the lights off. Leaving the door cracked a bit so he could hear Naruto during the night, Kakashi walked back into the living area and pulled out the book he was reading before they left for the hospital.

After trying to read for an hour, Kakashi leaned his head back against the back of the couch and sighed. These feelings sucked. They were a weakness. They made you second guess yourself in the middle of a crisis. Kakashi had seen teams abort missions because one of their teammates were hurt or in danger. There was something to be said for taking care of your teammates, but it was another to put yourself in danger because of that teammate.

Yes, in the privacy of his own mind, Kakashi could admit to the hypocrisy of his thoughts. Hatake Kakashi, the ANBU captain that takes the hardest part of any mission when on a team, the parts where survival was not assured, was complaining about teammates putting themselves in danger because of a feeling. But Kakashi did it because he didn't want anyone else to get hurt. It was different damn it!

However, this feeling that Harumi kept causing him to feel was annoying. Hell, feelings, in general, were annoying, however, the feeling attached to people were the worst ones. Even Naruto was starting to provoke emotional responses from him. Obito is probably laughing his ass off right now in the afterlife watching Kakashi struggle and figure this out.

The feelings attached to Naruto were easier to identify and work with, they are very similar to what he felt with for Minato-sensei. Happy, that is an easy emotion, it made smiles more believable. Pride, that is another easy one, Kakashi always felt pride when a mission was completed, when someone on his team out performed his or her previous limits.

No matter what he tried to do, he just couldn't get these feelings under control. He needed to. Feelings would get him or worse one of his comrades hurt or killed. Although, now that Kakashi was able to put those feelings away, he was able to admit that Harumi acted perfectly within normal limits. She quickly analyzed the situation and took the actions that best suited her skillset. It was as she had told Naruto, she is best at dodging and protecting, while Kakashi and Itachi were better suited for tracking. But that doesn't explain the sinking feeling Kakashi had when he saw Harumi at the hospital. How he had to lock his knees when he saw how unsteady she was on her feet when she walked out of the bathroom. How he had to stop himself from offering to help her sit down!

This is not normal! Well not normal for Kakashi anyway.

Feelings suck! That is the conclusion Kakashi comes too after trying to figure out what those feeling could mean. All he knew for sure was, the Shimizu family was good for Naruto. His nightmares had been significantly lessened, he has been doing better at school and he was acting more like the children around him and in the parenting book Kakashi read that first week Naruto came to live with him. Because of Harumi, Naruto is gathering a group of friends including the heir to the Nara clan and maybe the younger brother to the heir of the Uchiha clan. Kakashi would have to ask Itachi about that one.

A glance at the clock told Kakashi that it was time to get some sleep, tomorrow would bring its own headaches and problems. But none that Kakashi couldn't handle, of that he was sure. After all, he was not an elite jonin for nothing, right?

 **AN: I am so sorry about the late upload, to be honest, I though I had published this, only I didn't. I hope you enjoy the look into the mind of Kakashi Hatake. Poor thing is trying, that counts for something, right?**


	23. Chapter 23

**The next morning**

"Masahiro!" Naruto yelled running up to his friend as he had done every day since they decided to become friends.

"Naruto! Did you hear, Harumi-nee is coming home today!" Masahiro yelled back.

Maiko just shook her head, "Come on you two, I have an early training session today because Sensei is making us do two D-ranks today."

Naruto and Masahiro quickly took off down the road. Kakashi nodded a greeting to Maiko, who just shrugged. Hmm, maybe he needed to change up his reading material again if the Shimizu's were not uncomfortable with him reading.

"Harumi asked if you would mind bringing Masahiro home after the Academy," Maiko said, keeping an eye on the two boys in front of them.

"Sure," Kakashi replied.

"Good, I will let her know."

That was the last words spoken between the two. Once they said goodbye to the boys, or in Kakashi's case, grunted, the two turned and walked in different directions. Once out of view of the academy, Kakashi quickly took to the roof and made his way over to the Memorial Stone, it was time to have a long overdue conversation with Rin and Obito.

"So, there is this woman," Kakashi began, "I don't know what to do about her. She is a lot like you, Rin. She is kind to everyone, even Naruto. She treats him the same as her other siblings. Sensei and Kushina-nee would have like her." Kakashi took a breath, "She was hurt the other day protecting Naruto. I didn't catch the person who tried to hurt him. She was hurt and there was nothing I could do to stop it. She passed the poisoning off as a justifiable! Because she was able to handle the injury.

"She didn't even think, she just acted! If it wasn't for her connection to Naruto I probably wouldn't have cared, but Naruto needs her. She is very good for him, not as a mother, but more like a big sister. Which is a good thing because I am not sure Kushina-nee would be happy with someone taking over her place, but she would want Naruto to know what it was like to have a family. Both Sensei and Kushina would. I know they would be ashamed of the way Naruto has been treated. I know I am ashamed of the way I was forced to leave him alone. But Harumi is changing things. Not the whole village, but a few people, which seems to be enough for Naruto.

"She even started a boycott on certain shops because the shop keepers were mean to Naruto. And the Nara clan is just following suit. While not a huge clan, their influence is felt through the whole village. No one wants to be on the Nara's bad side, so now shop keepers are going out of their way to be nice to Naruto. Even giving him free treats or giving discounts to him. It is funny when we go shopping together, people keep throwing stuff at him and me. All in hopes that it will get back to the Nara women." Kakashi laughed quietly, "Not that it will matter to Harumi, that woman holds a grudge better than anyone I know. She was so mad at her aunt that she even went out on a mission just to avoid talking to her.

"That was a crap mission, gathering intelligence in a small village is always awful, no one wants to talk to you. Unless you are a visiting medic, in which case everyone wants to talk to you," Kakashi shrugged, "I don't know why you need to know all of this, but I wanted you to have a good laugh at my expense, Obito, I know you are. Rin is more forgiving and would give me advice, maybe you would be able to tell me what the fuck am I supposed to do with all of this information."

A small rustling of leaves from the forest brought Kakashi's head snapping around. Taking a small sniff through his nose didn't bring anything unusual to his nose. A quick pulse of chakra gave no other chakra signatures. Shrugging it off as a rabbit or some other small forest creature, Kakashi turned back towards the stone. "So that is what is going on in my life right now. I am the guardian of Sensei's son and somehow I have been drug into another family. Only this time I am forced to act human and when I don't Harumi and Naruto drag me to at least pretend I am human. The question I have is when does pretending stop and I become human, what happens then?"

Listening to the silence of the forest was always comforting to Kakashi. Talking to his teammates even more so. Kakashi stood there for a few more minutes, letting the quiet settle him before turning around to leave. He had a meeting with Itachi to get too and he was only fifteen minutes late.

"Taichou, have you learned anything else?" Itachi asked as soon as Kakashi walked through the door of ANBU.

"I didn't, but Shimizu-san brought to my attention that the Land of Rain is the common thread for all of this."

Itachi nodded, "So what do we do about it?"

"I don't know. I think we should go to the Hokage and see if he has any spies there, if not, then we might have to do something drastic. But the one thing that is for sure is that you or I can't go to investigate."

Itachi nodded understanding. Itachi was needed to keep an eye on the Uchiha clan to make sure the elders don't try to move up the timeline of the coup, while Kakashi couldn't leave Naruto again so soon. The two ANBU quickly jumped out the nearest window and made their way over to the Hokage's office. A quick knock on the window, a loud 'come in,' later, Kakashi and Itachi filled Sarutobi in with the latest developments of their mission.

"So, there is a man in an orange mask, that may or may not have a Sharingan that is recruiting civilians and missing-nin as his converts? These converts may easily be the foundation of an army," Hokage thought out loud. "The converts are told to travel to Amegakure, where they learn about this new world. The unknown assailant disappeared into Ame, where the hunter team lost the trail at the city gates. Although that is suspect because according to the captain, the trail was a little too perfect."

Kakashi and Itachi exchanged a knowing glance, there was a reason Hokage was also known as the Professor.

"I don't have anyone currently on mission in Ame, however that doesn't mean we haven't heard whispers of something going on there," Sarutobi pulled out his pen and wrote a quick note before calling Genma into the room, "Send a hawk to Jiraiya with this," Hokage handed the note to Genma.

Genma bowed, "Right away Hokage-sama."

Turning his piercing gaze back to Kakashi and Itachi, "I want the two of you to be extra vigilant. Something is going on. The fact that we even know some of the pieces worries me. It means that whoever is the mastermind behind all of this is either so far into his plans that even the little bit we know can't stop him. Or he is losing his mind or his base and needs Konoha to act to firm up one, the other or both. Neither is a good prospect and to be honest, I am not sure which one scares me more."

The two ANBU members snap to attention and in unison, their arm comes up over their heart, "Yes, Lord Hokage," they reply.

"Good, now I won't order you to continue to allow Naruto, Sasuke, and Masahiro to continue to train together, but I think we can both agree that it is in their best interest to do so. Also, I will be placing additional ANBU to watch over both young Sasuke and Naruto, just until we hear from Jiraiya."

 **AN: Moving on and moving forward. A short chapter, but I will be uploading the next chapter soon, since I am completely finished with it. I hope you continue to enjoy.**


	24. Chapter 24

Harumi slowly set the book from Naruto on the table next to the couch. Continuing to move slowly she walked over to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Kakashi should be back with the boys soon. She wanted to make sure the tea was fresh and hot, and there was a nice snack before the boys started in on their homework. Harumi wasn't kidding herself, she knew that if everything was ready Kakashi would have a much harder time saying no, and she had some questions.

There isn't much to do but think when you are stuck in the hospital and she was sure she had stumbled onto a huge puzzle to think about. A puzzle that Naruto was in the middle of and Kakashi was leading the charge to solve. Well, she wanted answers and if Kakashi couldn't tell her, at least she would have the relief of telling someone else about her thoughts. Who was she kidding, she really wanted to be part of solving this puzzle, but like any good kunoichi, she knew the value of secrets and knew that secrets and compartmentalizing was part of the world, however, she was a Nara, and Nara's couldn't resist a puzzle.

The tea kettle whistled as the door was slid open, right on time. Harumi smiled holding the tea kettle in one hand she walked over to the front room, "Perfect timing, the water just boiled for tea, come on in and have a snack before you boys work on your homework."

Naruto looked up at Kakashi and then back at Harumi, "Don't you want to rest or something, Harumi-nee?"

Harumi stifled a grin, sounds like someone was being coached on post-hospital visits. "Not at all, I have been resting all day. Besides, it isn't like I must do anything other than sitting here, drink tea and listen to you boys talk."

"If you are sure," Kakashi ventured.

"Take off your shoes and come in!" Harumi insisted.

"Yeah!" Naruto hollered as his sandals flew off and he walked, almost ran, to the kitchen to wash his hands with Masahiro.

Harumi laughed as she walked back to the kitchen and poured the hot water into the teapot. Kakashi walked slowly into the kitchen, his hand in his pocket and his other hand twitching and Harumi smiled, "Read your book, Kakashi, you are looking a little unsettled."

Kakashi's eye stared at Harumi's back as she finished putting the teacups, juice, and teapot onto a small tray. Harumi never said anything about his reading, but this is the first time she had encouraged it. Come to think of it, Kakashi didn't remember a time when she would complain about his reading, even his team would complain and tell him to put it away and his team was the closest he had to friends. Well if you don't count Gai, but really is Gai a friend? However, Harumi never did, she would engage him on conversation, and just ignore his apparent inattention, even giving his usual Gai responses did nothing.

But whenever Kakashi got uncomfortable or got too close to those feelings' thing again, he would pull out his book and almost immediately people would back off, as far as a wall went, it was a good one. So Kakashi took his book out and started reading. The boys quickly filled the silence with stories of what happened at the academy today. It seems that they were focused on physical training and the girls were not happy about it at all. A glance up from his book showed that Harumi was grinning in his direction at the boys' complaints.

"Well civilian girls are not taught katas and cardio training from the time they can walk, so yes, they will be behind you," Harumi replied.

"Yes, but they couldn't even finish three laps around the Academy," Masahiro whined.

"Now Masa-chan, you have to remember that not all of the academy students are going to have older siblings or parents who make you train every day. You are very lucky that I work in the hospital and can help you. However soon, those times will become fewer and fewer, because things can't stay the same. Besides, in a couple of years, you will be a genin and you won't have time or energy to train with me, you will be too busy with your own team."

Masahiro frowned, "Why won't you train with me?"

Harumi smiled, "I will always want to train with you, but there are only so many hours in a day and only so much we can do, as you progress closer and closer to graduation, you will have less time to work with me, that is just a fact of how this works." Harumi shrugged, "It is for a reason. However, that is something to think about in the future, right now you have to focus on your homework."

Both boys stuffed their snack into their mouths and brought their homework into the kitchen. Harumi stood up and cleaned the snack off the table, set down two glasses of water next to the boys and refilled Kakashi's tea before walking into the living room and picking up both the puzzle book and the novel she was almost finished with. Sitting down, enjoying the quiet that was only broken by the scratching of pencils against paper and the rustling of pages turning, Harumi was happy and content.

Quickly the boys finished up their homework, it was simply answering questions about some of the katas they learned today.

"Haru-nee, can Naruto and I go play outside?" Masahiro asked after Harumi looked over their work.

"Of course, stay where I can see you please," Harumi answered, picking up her novel and her tea to move to the porch to watch the boys.

Kakashi moved with her, leaving his empty cup in the sink. Kakashi heard the whispered sigh as Harumi sat down. Looking up from his book he asked, "Is it difficult to walk still?"

Harumi shook her head, "Not really, it is the changing of positions that is what hurts. My muscles just do not want to recover as fast as I think they should," she finished with a rueful smile. "Now tell me about that book you are reading. Is it new?"

Kakashi blinked at the sudden change of subject, "It isn't new, it has been out for a couple of years, but it is the latest one in the series."

"Ah, so if I were to start reading the Icha Icha books, would you recommend that I start at the beginning?"

Kakashi felt his cheeks blush at the thought of Harumi reading the Icha Icha books. "Well I would say it would be a good place to start, but this one," Kakashi shook the book, "is my personal favorite. The characters are more developed and less two dimensional, also the story is more about love than lust."

Harumi nodded, a slight blush on her cheeks, "Ah, that is good. But will I be lost if I started on the second book?"

"Not really, while it is a series, each story is its own self-contained story."

Harumi nodded again, "Okay. I will have to check it out tomorrow then. I am almost finished with the book you gave me, and I want to go and get the next one."

"Already?" Kakashi asked.

"I read quickly when I have the chance too. Besides, I didn't sleep much in the hospital, so I finished the first book, knowing that I had the second one already. But the second one is so fascinating that I am having trouble putting it down and it seems like it is just flying. So, I will need the third book soon. Unfortunately, the third book is the last one, so I will be sad to see it end."

"I understand that, would you be interested in a trade?" Kakashi asked.

"A trade?" Harumi repeated.

"Sure, I can loan you one of my copies of Icha Icha Paradise and you loan me the first book in that series."

Harumi blinked, "You want to read one of my books?"

Kakashi blushed harder, "Maa, I do read other books, I have been looking for a new book to replace the one that I am currently reading."

"What book are you currently reading, if it isn't that one?" Harumi was intrigued.

"A book on advanced poison jutsu."

Harumi paused for a moment, going through the advanced poison jutsu scrolls she knew of, trying to figure out which one had been transferred to book form and the only one she could think of was one written by Orochimaro before he became a traitor. "Ah, is this work or play reading?"

"A bit of both, I find it interesting how you explained how to treat poisoning, where most would use a serum or something like that, you use chakra."

Harumi nodded, "Serums are handy and very good for distribution or to keep on hand at the hospitals and clinics, however, each serum has some chakra in it, I just look at ignoring the serum part and just go straight to the chakra. It is not the most efficient way to heal, but it works in a pinch," Harumi shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Medical-nins are not known for their large chakra reserves, so it must be a difficult technique to master."

"It is, but it isn't like I use it all the time, and you have seen the chakra exhaustion results. You and Itachi were not gone that long and I was already down."

"Your priorities were different then, and all you really need to do is work on perfecting the use. You kept talking about it like it was a newer technique you were trying."

"Yes, it is relatively new."

"Then give yourself time to perfect it. New techniques take time, no one knows that better than anyone who has created their own technique."

Harumi just shrugged, "So if you are almost finished with advanced poison jutsus, you are looking for something lighter?"

Kakashi eye grinned, "Something like that, I like to keep changing my reading so that I don't get bored."

"Well if that is the case, sure I would be happy to trade books with you, that way we can talk about them while the boys are playing."

Kakashi's eye widened in disbelief, "Talk?"

Harumi laughed, "It is where two people use their mouths to share ideas and thoughts on different topics. Kind of like what we are doing now."

Kakashi laughed quietly, "I guess we could talk about books."

"Books are easy to talk about, Kakashi. Characters, plot, things you liked about the book, things you didn't like. How one part of the action was completely unrealistic." Harumi listed off the topics, counting them off with her fingers.

Kakashi looked slightly concerned and uncertain, "But what if I like something you hate?"

Harumi grinned, although very puzzled as to why that would be a concern, "Then we talk about it and have a lively discussion."

"And that is a good thing?" Kakashi asked, in his experience, disagreeing with a woman about something meant being hit over the head with her fist and having to run for your life.

"Well it is for me, kaa-san and I used to talk about books all the time, Tamotsu and I used to talk about different books while we were on missions, it was a good way to pass the time while we were keeping watch."

"I am still not sure that disagreeing with you would be a good thing."

"Eh, you can talk to Tamotsu if you want, I don't normally resort to violence over a difference of opinion."

At that Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow, Harumi looked confused before she remembered the mission they were on a few days ago.

"That was a very different circumstance, it was not a difference of opinion about something, but a matter of keeping Katsu's assumptions to himself."

Kakashi was still unconvinced, but he replied, "If you say so."

Later, Harumi sat at the table with Maiko heated up the dinner that Yoshino-oba dropped off at the house earlier that day. As much as Maiko was an accomplished kunoichi, she was not very good in the kitchen, so Harumi was walking her through the different steps to heat up dinner. Thankfully it was stirring fry and rice, so a little heat on the stove continuing to stir it and dinner was done.

"I'll make some tea if you put dinner on the table," Harumi said, putting her book back down and slowly standing.

"Are you sure that you should be doing this much work?" Maiko asked.

"Making tea is not work, besides I need to move around so that my muscles keep moving."

"Fine, but if you hurt more tomorrow, I reserve the right to say, 'I told you so'."

Harumi grinned, "Of course, I would expect nothing less."

Hideaki walked through the door, slightly bruised and a little bloody, but for the most part, looking fine, "Hard time training?"

Hideaki shook his head, "Not really, we were tasked with a last-minute patrol mission and I ran into a crazy boar and I played bait."

"Why you?" Maiko asked.

"Because I needed the boar to be in relatively the same spot for my Shadow Possession Jutsu, and not running all over the clearing."

"Do you need me to look at you?" Harumi asked.

Hideaki shook his head, "Nah, Emi-chan made me go to the hospital after we were dismissed, and I got checked out, mostly shallow cuts and bruises, which should heal just fine in a few days."

Harumi nodded, "Did you want to take a bath?"

"In the morning maybe," Hideaki answered, baths were always a great way to relieve sore muscles and bruises, but not with open cuts.

"Masahiro! Dinner!" Harumi called up to his room where Masahiro was putting his clothes away in the wardrobe.

Dinner was a normal affair, with Hideaki and Masahiro in charge of clean up so the two girls went upstairs, Maiko to help Harumi with her bath. Soft music began to play as Maiko added some bath salts to the water, as soon as they were dissolved, Maiko walked out of the room to let Harumi undress and slip into the water.

 **AN: And we keep moving forward. There is a time skip coming up, not for a couple chapters, but it is time to move things along faster. Harumi wants to get to the good stuff and being injured is not part of the good stuff :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Insert witty "I don't own any of the Naruto characters, just the ones I create" message.**

The next morning, Harumi was up at dawn and out in her backyard performing some katas as the sun was rising. A whisper of sound was her only warning before Katsu dropped next to her.

"Ohayou, Katsu," Harumi said, pausing only slightly before continuing her kata.

"Ohayou, Haru-chan," came the reply as the ANBU leaned against the wall of her house and watched. "I heard you had some excitement a few days ago."

Harumi flashed him a grin over her shoulder as she made the ninety degree turn and kick, "I guess you could call it that, I spent some time in the hospital for chakra exhaustion and poisoning."

"So, you can tell me what, but not why?" Katsu asked.

Harumi shrugged as she raised her hands above her head, "I am sure that everyone else would have told you that much."

"You were protecting the boys," Katsu replied flatly.

Harumi stopped and turned around to look at him, Katsu's face was pinched, his arms folded across his chest, even his legs were crossed at the ankles. "You are upset." Not a question.

"Of course, I am, you were in the hospital!"

"It was two nights and the second night was to ensure that I didn't harm my chakra coils any. I am fine." She explained.

"I heard that Hatake-san and Uchiha-san were there too."

Harumi just stared at him.

"Why didn't they end up in the hospital?"

Harumi shrugged and continued her kata, "Are you here to check up on me or for something else?"

"Why else would I be here?"

"I don't know, but one would think from these questions that you are questioning my abilities as a kunoichi or as a medic."

Katsu frowned, "How would you get that idea?" He wasn't questioning her abilities, but damn it Hatake and Uchiha are both prodigies and ANBU!

"Your question about who may or may not have been there and their location tells me that you find it hard to believe that I should be in the hospital and not them. Which tells me that you are questioning someone's ability. So, I either healed them at my expense by being hurt and not healing myself or that because they were unhurt, I must be out of practice as a kunoichi." Harumi finished her kata and folded in half, placing her hands on the ground in front of her, "So which is it?"

Katsu looked at Harumi, her dark hair spilling onto the ground in front of her as she stretched. The muscles of her back moving as she shifted under her tight shirt as she moved her shoulders trying to force them to relax. He watched as her shoulders stiffened slightly as she bent her elbows to gain a deeper stretch before slowly relaxing again. "Neither," he lied, because when laid out the way she did, yes, he was doubting her abilities, "I am just worried about you. Since I was out on a mission I thought I would ask questions before I do anything else."

Harumi slowly stood up, her eyes searching Katsu's face. While he knew she could read him better than most, he also knew she wouldn't look too far into his words, at least not until later when he was well out of reach. Besides, it wasn't a total lie, just not the entire truth. But as Tamotsu's note said, Harumi was only in the hospital for a little while and she was not worried, she was the professional after all and would know if she needed more than two nights in the hospital. Also, the note said that Masahiro was doing just fine with this development.

"So, you just got back?"

"Early this morning."

"Have you already done your report?"

"I did that first."

"So, you should go home and go to bed, we can talk after you wake up."

"Why are you kicking me out already?"

"Because you are not going to stop picking at what happened unless you get some sleep from your mission. Go and sleep, write your report and then come see me. I will be here, I have the rest of the week before I go back to the hospital. Although if by Friday I am not feeling better, I am supposed to get a full checkup."

Katsu frowned, "Are you getting better?"

Harumi pointed in the direction of Katsu's apartment, "Sleep! Then we can talk all you want, in fact I will even feed you."

With a sigh, Katsu straightened up from the wall, gave Harumi a hug and quick kiss on the top of her hair, "Fine, but I want salted sole." With a leap, Katsu ran towards his apartment to get sleep and to formulate a plan for the conversation. He knew more than he should simply because he was on the ANBU team in charge of watching over Naruto when Hatake was out of town on a mission. However, the fact he knew more, didn't mean he could come right out and say that he knew. Sometimes being in ANBU sucked because of all the lies he had to tell. Dealing with straight assassinations were easier than having to deal with friends sometimes.

Harumi finished her katas, a slight sheen of sweat covered her arms and legs. The house was starting to come awake with her siblings moving around in their rooms. Maiko was the first to emerge and gave Harumi a sunny smile when she saw her at the stove.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Rice porridge," Harumi replied.

"Why are you up so early?" Hideaki asked.

Harumi laughed as she continued to stir the rice, "I couldn't sleep, I have been getting up at dawn since I was Maiko's age, my body has recovered enough to get back into my usual routine. So, I did some exercise and now I am making breakfast."

"I can see that," Hideaki grumped, "Do you need any help?"

"Sure, get the salmon out and the pickled vegetables."

Hideaki grunted and took out the things Harumi asked for.

"I will be taking Masahiro to the academy this morning, I have a few errands I need to do this morning and the walk will do me good."

"Are you sure?" Maiko asked.

Harumi resisted rolling her eyes, her sister meant well, "Yes, I am sure."

Breakfast was a quick affair, especially since Hideaki was insisting on everyone eat fast so he could do the dishes before he left to meet his team. Checking to make sure she had the first and second book of the series she had been reading, Harumi and Masahiro walked towards the Academy. Masahiro was excited about something they were doing today. It was supposed to be a surprise, but he was sure it was learning a new jutsu, or maybe they would be allowed to use the real weapons, instead of the wooden and rubber ones.

As soon as they reached their normal meeting point, Harumi heard the familiar shout, "Masahiro! Haru-nee-chan!"

"Naruto!" Came Masahiro's answering call. In moments the two boys were trying to guess what the surprise at the school would be, walking ahead of the two adults.

Kakashi glanced at Harumi, noting her less than graceful gait, "Still a little sore?"

Harumi shrugged, "A little, but that is normal."

Kakashi raised his hands in surrender, "I am not saying anything against you."

Harumi's face turned to look at him, "I am not saying you are," she grinned suddenly, "Just teasing you, Kakashi. I am doing better today. It feels good to move."

Kakashi nodded, "I always like that the first little bit on a mission, the freedom of movement is always good."

Harumi nodded, "Do you go running with Naruto or your pack?"

"I haven't gone far with Naruto, just around the village once or twice. His stamina is getting better, but he still needs to improve some."

Harumi nodded, "Masahiro is the same, he can run around the Nara forest a few times before getting tired. I am starting to wonder if they are even working on stamina at the academy. I seem to remember having to run around the academy grounds multiple times a day when I was there."

Kakashi shrugged, "I don't remember, I was in the academy for a short time."

Harumi nodded, remembering the stories of the child prodigy graduating in one year. She remembered being jealous of the child when she was a child, however as an adult, she is very grateful that her parents insisted that she wait to graduate with her class, granted she was ten because they were just coming out of a war and they needed all the shinobi they could get, but she was able to be a child for just a little longer.

"Well it is a good thing one of us remembers," Harumi said a huge grin on her face, "Else who would be teaching Naru-kun how to play?"

"Maa," Kakashi groaned, "All he wants to do is play now. After he finished his dinner last night, I had to summon Pakkun to come and play with him, so I could get some work done."

Harumi laughed loudly, causing some of the parents walking their kids to the academy, to turn and look at them, while Masahiro and Naruto shared a look before running back to each grab a Harumi hand. "Poor Kakashi, should I show you how to play with kid who has too much energy?" Harumi asked, still smiling.

Kakashi could feel his cheeks heat slightly at the picture the first part of her sentence provoked, something out of Icha Icha Paradise for sure. "I am your willing student, Harumi, anything you want to teach me you are welcome to," his voice came out slightly huskier than normal and a slight lecherous tone to it.

Harumi looked at him closely, noting the slight pink around his exposed eye but thankfully for both Harumi and Kakashi, they arrived at the Academy grounds and the boys started to pull on Harumi's arm.

"We have to go now, nee-chan, so be good while we are at the Academy," Masahiro said a mischievous grin on his face, "Will you pick us up after?"

Not missing the plural, us and we, Harumi nodded anyway, "Yes Masahiro," ruffling his hair, "I will be here to pick you two up, unless something happens, in which case Kakashi-san will pick you up."

Satisfied, the two boys ran into the building, calling out to their friends as they did. Harumi resisted the urge to roll her eyes, really this was getting ridiculous, she was a grown woman and a medic, she could take care of herself. It looked like she would be having a conversation with her siblings over dinner. Shaking her head, she reached into the bag she slung over her shoulder and pulled out two books, holding them out to Kakashi she said, "Here you go, I finished the second one last night and decided you could borrow both of them."

Kakashi looked that the two books, "If you are sure?" When she nodded, he took the two books and slipped them into his vest before pulling out his unsigned copy of Icha Icha Paradise. "As promised, this is my spare, so no worries if you spill something on it."

Harumi gasped in shock, "Why would I spill something on your book? That is." Harumi paused, "I can't think of a word that is strong enough to describe how awful that is."

"What?"

"Spilling something on a book!" Harumi cried outraged at the idea.

"I'm confused," Kakashi confessed.

Harumi looked at him, the pink was gone around his face, leaving behind a young and vulnerable looking Kakashi. It took Harumi's breath away to see that vulnerability, something she was sure that no one else would be given permission to see. "When someone lends you a book, it is special," Harumi said taking the book from Kakashi's hand, gently stroking the cover of the book, "It is especially special if the book being given to you is a special book to the person. For instance, while Naruto was staying with us, he was reading a fairy tale book that kaa-san would read to all of us when we were little. That book is especially special to Masahiro because it is one of his clearest memories of kaa-san. So, Naruto treated the book with special care, not because of the words, but because of the memories brought with that book."

"So, you are saying that by giving you permission to destroy my book I did something bad?"

"Not bad, just told me that you don't trust me to treat the book with the same care you would," Harumi replied.

"Oh," Kakashi still looked confused, but not as young or vulnerable, his mask completely back in place, not the cloth one either, that one never moves, much to Naruto and Masahiro's disappointment. Kakashi pulled his copy and held it out to her, "Look, this one has stains on it, the pages are earmarked and right here," Kakashi stopped on a page that was noticeably blackened, "this page got caught in a stray fire jutsu."

Harumi looked at the book, well worn and damaged in different ways, thankfully not to obscure the words or pictures. "I can see that," Harumi replied hesitantly, unsure what Kakashi was getting at.

"I just wanted you to know that any accident that happens with the book, it is fine, because I have done worse to my book. I just wanted you to not feel bad if something happened to it."

Harumi smiled and Kakashi caught his breath. This smile was different from the smiles she gave him in the past. It wasn't the polite smile she gave to patients, it wasn't the friendly smile she gave to friends, nor was it the smile Kakashi had been seeing more often, the smile she saves for her family. This smile was like a light was lit from within and the only way for the light to escape was through that smile. It lit up her eyes, so they shined like a jewel in the bright sun, it made her face look radiant.

"What?" Kakashi asked, very unsure of himself, what did he say to make her so happy?

"Thank you for letting me borrow your book, Kakashi. I will treat it with care." Harumi was secretly thrilled, the emotionally stunted shinobi, who everyone is convinced is nothing more than a child, had thought to reassure her about his book. Even before she said anything to make him think she would need that reassurance.

Kakashi nodded, growing more confused, "What are you planning on doing today?" Changing the subject was always a good way to avoid confusing situations.

"I have a little shopping to do and I wanted to walk, get some forward momentum going," Harumi joked. "I want to be outside in the sun and not stuck inside looking at walls. After all, I am on leave," she smiled as the two walked down to the market area.

Harumi walked straight to her favorite stall and started to look through the different fruit options. She glanced at Kakashi and found him engrossed in his usual book, but when she casually glanced at the pages, she found words and not pictures. She stopped trying to be subtle and ducked under his arm and stuck her head between Kakashi's and the book and started to read, it was the book she had given him this morning! Grabbing the book, Harumi read a page, flipped to another section, making sure to mark Kakashi's place and continued to read, turning the book over to look at the cover. Moving out of Kakashi's space, she turned around and held the book up, "What is this?"

"A book," Kakashi answered, his grin showing through his mask.

"But… the cover… the words." Harumi tried to get her thoughts in order and really in the grand scheme of things this was not a big deal, but really, Kakashi was reading a real book, not porn, but the cover said he was reading Icha Icha.

"I like to read," Kakashi replied with a shrug, "I do have a reputation to maintain, so I just make sure all of my books have the same cover and no one questions it."

"But I have seen what you read!" Harumi cried out.

"Well I didn't say that I don't still read the Icha Icha books, just not all the time," Kakashi shrugged again and held his hand out. Gently placing the book back in his hand, making sure that his thumb filled the gap where hers was to keep his spot before releasing it.

"I don't feel any chakra on the book."

"It is there, a very small henge, most never notice it," Kakashi explained.

"Hmm," Harumi mused before turning back to the shocked merchant. "Do you have anything new?"

The curly haired merchant blinked and blinked again before turning to a small box to his left, "We have some fresh mangos, kiwis and apples."

"Oh, those sound lovely, I think a nice fruit salad with dinner will be perfect," Harumi said to herself pulling out a few coins to hand to the merchant, "Two each of the apples and mangos and three kiwi, please."

The merchant quickly collected her order and placed them into a bag before handing it to her, along with her change, "Here you go. I should be getting a new shipment of fruits in three days Harumi-san."

"Oh perfect, I will have to stop by then," Harumi replied, accepting the bag putting the change back into a pocket and moving to the next shop. "Do you like fruit salad Kakashi?"

"Maa, I don't dislike it," Kakashi replied, turning the page.

"Should I expect you and Naru-kun for dinner?"

Kakashi looked up from his book, "Are you sure?"

Harumi shrugged, "Why not, Naruto and Masahiro will want to come over after the Academy to train and work on homework together, so why wouldn't you stay for dinner?"

"I guess that makes sense," Kakashi relented, "You don't have to keep feeding us you know."

"I know, but right now it gives me something to do, other than rest." Grabbing a basket, Harumi started her grocery shopping.

Kakashi held out a hand and snapped his fingers, not looking up from his reading.

"What?" Harumi asked as Kakashi snapped his fingers again.

"Give me the basket," he growled.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"You got out of the hospital yesterday, let me carry the damn basket! No need for you to work too much."

Harumi glared at Kakashi, who just glared right back. This glaring contest continued for a few seconds with Kakashi's hand held out and Harumi gripping the basket handles with a death grip. Finally, Kakashi just raised his eyebrow and Harumi sighed. Opening her fingers, ignoring the slight pain from the rush of blood and held the basket out to him. Kakashi took the basket and murmured 'thank you,' before returning to his book.

Harumi sighed again and continued to walk down the aisles, putting more different things into the basket. A bag of rice, milk, eggs, cheese, pork, chicken, Kakashi stopped paying attention as the basket continued to get stuff added to it.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Harumi was grateful for Kakashi taking the basket, at least once she looked at the basket Kakashi placed on the belt at the checkout. After paying for her purchases, Harumi and Kakashi divided the bags between the two and started to walk back to her house, however a store display distracted her. It was a beautiful wrap dress, made in the style of a kimono, but definitely not a traditional kimono. The right side was stark black, which made the other side even brighter. Starting at the shoulder, the left side slowly changed from black, to dark blue and slowly faded to a bright blue at the bottom of the sleeve and the hem peaking out from under the black part. There was a sash or belt tied around under the deep v of the top it was the in the same fabric as the left side.

Without any thought, Harumi walked into the store to get a closer look at the dress. On closer inspection the color was only on the left sleeve and front panel of the dress, the rest of it was black. Walking closer to it, Harumi noticed that the dress would stop above midthigh and the sleeves would reach just past her fingertips.

The woman who owned the shop came up to Harumi and smiled, "We just got that in yesterday. Isn't it beautiful? With your coloring, you would look beautiful in this dress."

Harumi smiled, "Thank you, but I was just struck at how pretty it was and wanted to take a closer look."

"Look all you want, let me know if you want to try it on," with that last tempting sentence, the woman walked back to her spot near the cash register.

One last longing look at the dress Harumi turned, already resigning herself to the memory of the beautiful dress, knowing she didn't have any reason to buy it, or the money, Harumi turned to continue her walk home. Stopping quickly, thank goodness for kunoichi reflexes, Harumi avoided the collision with Kakashi who followed her into the shop.

Kakashi's book was noticeably absent as he too looked at the dress, "Pretty dress," he said casually.

Harumi continued walking out the door, a quick glance showed her that Kakashi was following, "It is a beautiful dress." Harumi agreed.

"Are you going to get it?"

Harumi shot Kakashi a frustrated glare, "No, I'm not."

"Why not?"

"A number of reasons, but mostly because I have no reason to wear it."

Kakashi frowned, "Don't women dress up to go out for dinner and drinks?"

Harumi shrugged, "I wouldn't know. I haven't done anything like that since my parents were alive."

Kakashi stared at Harumi's back, his mind trying to figure out what she meant, all of the women he ever knew went out together at one point or another. Even Kushina-nee would go out with friends and leave Sensei by himself for the night, granted she would come back drunk, or at least tipsy, but Kakashi was told that was part of the fun.

Kakashi caught up to Harumi by the time she got to her door and followed her inside. Toeing off his shoes he watched quietly as she continued to move around, putting her groceries away. Very unsure and highly uncomfortable with the silence, Kakashi went to make some tea, Harumi liked tea, and took out his borrowed book, dropped the henge on it and read while the water boiled. However, the words just wouldn't translate in his mind, he kept hearing Harumi say that she never had a girl's night out, but that couldn't be right. Harumi had lots of friends, he had seen plenty of nurses and medics in the Rusty Kunai when he had been in there after his friends had harassed him into going. Had he seen Harumi there? Would he have even noticed?

Making Harumi a cup of tea, Kakashi held it out to her, "Tea?"

Harumi looked over from the pantry, "What?"

"Tea?" Kakashi asked again.

"Oh, yes please," Harumi closed the door and walked over to where Kakashi was standing, "Thank you." Taking a sip of her tea, Harumi's lips turned down as she went back to her thoughts.

Kakashi felt better, not sure what he did that caused Harumi to get upset, but he was sure he is the cause of it. The silence was no longer tinged with anger, but one of a companionable nature. Kakashi picked up his book and found that this time he was able to focus on the words. Quickly getting lost in the world created by the author, one filled with a child growing up as a merchant's child and how the child became a pirate and all the adventures on the seas. It was light and pure fluff as far as Kakashi was concerned, but still a nice contrast to the realities of shinobi life.

Harumi sat there staring at her tea cup. Kakashi had inadvertently touched on a sore subject for her. Once her parents died, things changed. She stopped going on missions and had to focus on becoming a full-time medic, which at the time meant more studying and more hours at the hospital. She was too busy to go out, then of course was the fact that she still had younger siblings, only one was a genin at the time so only he could be considered an adult. By now, it had just become habit to not go out with the other medics, she also lost touch with many of the people she went to the academy with. Some because they died in the war, others since then. It was just easier to ask people to come over, she could watch her siblings and Naruto now all while still socializing. Maybe it was time to see if Katsu wanted to go out for a drink or something, after all she was now old enough to drink, well legally anyway. Maybe, she decided, this was something she would ask while Katsu was interrogating her over tea.

Before she could say anything to Kakashi, his head snapped towards the front door, seconds before there was a knock at the door. Harumi put her tea cup down and walked over to the door. Opening it up, she saw a shinobi with a blue bandana over his hair and a senbon sticking out of his mouth. To the left of him was another shinobi his forehead protector was holding his dark brown hair back and a scar across the left side of his face.

Harumi smiled, "Hello Genma-san, what brings you to my door?"

Genma looked over her shoulder and addressed the silver haired man just behind her, "I heard a rumor that Hatake Kakashi was stalking a lovely woman and wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Kakashi snorted, "Sure that is why you are here."

Genma held up his hands in surrender, "What? Am I not allowed to be worried about my favorite medical-nin?"

The man with the scar looked at her and gave her an exasperated grin, "Pay Genma no mind, really he just now heard that you were hurt and wanted to check on you."

Harumi stared at Genma, before turning to glare at Kakashi, "Is there something written on the back of my head that says I can't take care of myself?"

Kakashi wisely backed away with his hands held out in front of him, "No, I see no such sign."

Genma looked from Kakashi to Harumi, "Using my superior knowledge of people, I am going to say that I said something wrong."

The scared man started to laugh, "Really Genma, what was your first clue? The death stare she gave you or the fact that she had Kakashi backing away like she was a cornered wild animal?"

"Come off it, Raidō, most people wouldn't say anything, just be supportive of their friend."

"Yeah, well when my friend says something stupid, I make it a point to point it out to him," Raidō shrugged, "I call it fair."

Harumi rolled her eyes before opening the door wider, "Come in you two, before my neighbors start to wonder what is going on here."

Genma and Raidō came in, took off their shoes and followed her to the kitchen. Kakashi sat back down in his spot at the table and Harumi went to make more tea. "Now why were you looking for me, Genma-san?"

Genma grinned, "Well Raidō here got injured during our spar with morning and we went to the hospital to see if you could patch him up really quick, you know like you did for me a couple weeks ago. And the nice nurse told us that you were on medical leave for the rest of the week because you too, were injured during a training exercise. Which Raidō decided meant you almost died. Also, the rumors of what happened have been flying around and we wanted to make sure you were okay."

Harumi sighed and walked into the laundry room, "What kind of injury do you have Raidō-san?"

"Just a small, ouch!"

"It is not small!"

"My arm is still attached, right? Then it is a small cut!"

Harumi sighed and took out her bandages and antibiotic ointment. Walking back to the table she set her things down, "Let me see it."

Raidō slowly pulled his shirt over his head, Genma helping him and Harumi saw the 'small' cut. She forced herself to not roll her eyes at the three-inch-long cut, it was deep enough that muscle was exposed. Harumi got some alcohol to disinfect the area before she took a deep breath and sent charka to her hand and went through the slow process of healing him. It was slow today because her chakra reserves still hadn't recovered, but she had enough to do this healing. While it was long and deep, it was a relatively easy healing.

Before she was finished, her door opened again, the very familiar chakra signature greeted her, "In the kitchen Katsu," she called.

Katsu walked into the kitchen and froze, not because Harumi had people in her kitchen, that is pretty normal, the fact one had no shirt on was also not surprising, it was the fact Kakashi was not reading his book but glaring at Raidō.

Katsu decided to test the glare, "Another good-looking man without a shirt in your kitchen Harumi? How many times do I need to tell you to take them to your room!"

Harumi laughed as she finished closing Raidō's skin, missing Kakashi shifting his glare to Katsu, "In my room, really? Is that why we spent a whole weekend rearranging my laundry room to make it a place where I can treat people who show up on my door step. You know, instead of my bedroom like it was before."

Katsu laughed, "Doesn't change the sentiment though, you should have the half naked man in your laundry room."

Genma choked on his sip of tea, "You have a list of places where you put the half naked men that show up?"

Harumi grinned at Genma, "Of course, I have a young impressionable sister, it would not do to have her wake up to her older sister making a man grunt and try not to cry."

This time Kakashi, Genma and Raidō stared at her all with their mouths hung open.

Harumi threw her head back and laughed, her joy echoing throughout the house. After a minute she was able to calm down, spread a little ointment onto Raidō's arm and wrap a bandage around it. "Keep this on today, I was able to heal the cut and bring it to a scratch, so not fully healed. So, you need to be aware of the weaker skin."

"Hai, Shimizu-sensei."

Harumi gathered up her stuff and took it back into the laundry room cabinet. "Katsu, there should be some food in the fridge for tea. Kakashi, could you make a fresh pot of tea? Genma-san, Raidō-san, would you like something sweet with your tea?"

Katsu took out some hard-boiled eggs and some rice and set it on the counter. Then he pulled out some cakes, and cookies. Then from the freezer he took out some ice cream mochi, popping on in his mouth he grinned around the frozen treat, "How did you know I have been craving ice cream?"

Harumi rolled her eyes, "Because you always crave ice cream when you get back from the Land of Wind."

Genma looked between the two, "How do you know he was in the Land of Wind?"

Harumi shrugged and muttered something about a tan. "So, we have cookies, wagashi (tea cake) and mochi. I also have some dango and sushi if you want something different."

Genma grinned and said, "With you here, sweet Harumi-san, I don't think I will need any sweets with my tea."

Kakashi glared at Genma over his book. Katsu glared at Genma over his shoulder. Harumi just laughed softly and walked back into the kitchen. She gave a huge sigh when she saw the lack of fresh tea. "Kakashi! One thing, I asked you to do one thing!"

Kakashi stopped glaring at Genma and looked up at Harumi, "Huh?"

"Bah, troublesome men!" she growled under her breath and walked over to the tea kettle and started the hot water.

Katsu quickly put the food he took from the fridge and put it onto the table, "Don't put me in that category, Haru-chan! I am doing what you asked."

Harumi walked over and popped Katsu on the head, then moved to Kakashi and Genma who yelped, "Hey, what did I do?"

"I know what you are doing, Genma-san. Stop antagonizing my guests or you will not be one for long!"

Kakashi turned to give Harumi a blank stare, "Now you have gone and ruined his fun."

Raidō groaned, "Now he will be impossible to live with."

"At least until he gets his next victim," Katsu agreed.

Harumi just rolled her eyes, "Why me?" Finishing the tea, Harumi brought the tea pot over and cups for those who didn't already have one.

"Why did you have so much food? You didn't know we would be here." Genma asked.

Harumi shrugged as she served herself a cake and some mochi, "I am on leave, so my family keeps dropping by just to 'chat', so I made sure I had plenty of things to offer them. Also, I know Katsu would be by later, I did invite him and knowing him, he wouldn't eat first so I would need to feed him." Harumi picked up her tea cup and moved it to her mouth to take a sip and was shocked when Kakashi's hand shot out and held onto the bottom of the cup. Lifting her eyebrows at him in question he shrugged. As she lowered the tea cup, she noticed how much her hand was shaking and she gave Kakashi a small grin. He responded with a barely noticeable nod.

"So, Katsu, you wanted to continue to yell at me?" Harumi asked.

Katsu choked on his sushi, coughed a few times and shook his head, "Yell at you, nope. I just wanted to know what happened to land you in the hospital for two nights and still put you on medical leave."

"A training accident and chakra exhaustion," she replied shortly.

Genma and Raidō sat straighter as Katsu turned to look at the two men, "Chakra exhaustion, huh? Then why were you healing someone?"

Harumi turned a glare at him and shrugged, "Why wouldn't I heal someone who needed it?"

"Chakra exhaustion, maybe?"

Harumi decided to ignore Katsu and grabbed a couple more cakes and slowly ate them. With Katsu still staring at her, she decided that she needed a new plan. Taking a page from Kakashi's book, so to speak, she took out a book, remembering to put a small henge on it to hide the cover, Harumi started to read. "Eat your fill, Katsu. I am done answering your questions like I am a child and not a fully-grown woman who has been in charge of her life for the last six years."

"But Haru-chan!" Katsu put just a little bit of whine in his voice to sound more like her brothers.

"No! We are not having this discussion again Katsu-kun. I know that you want to look after me but what you are doing is no better than what Yoshino-oba was doing the other day. So please, just drop it. I want to have a nice tea with my friend and not an interrogation session."

Katsu smiled, stood up and walked over to Harumi then he leaned down to give her a hug, "I'm sorry Harumi. It is just you are not supposed to get hurt, your job is to heal us, not to need healing."

Harumi patted his arm, "I know that is how you feel, so I try not to take what you say too personally, but you have to remember that I am a big girl and I can handle a lot of stuff."

"Yes, Haru-chan. So now that we have completed that part, what is the plan for the day?"

Harumi rolled her eyes, "I am sure Yoshino-oba will be here shortly to make sure I am resting. I swear, you all act like I have never gotten hurt before."

"To be fair, you probably never almost died while in the village," Kakashi casually threw that verbal bomb into the mix.

Katsu's arm tightened around Harumi's shoulders and she pat his arm again. Meanwhile Genma and Raidō were quickly and silently putting the pieces together. Both had heard the rumors of what happened, Harumi herself said a training exercise, but training does not create chakra exhaustion to the point of needed to be hospitalized. So, the rumors of an unknown assailant were beginning to look more plausible.

Harumi ate the last cake on her plate and picked up her tea mug again and saw that her hand was much steadier. She was healing just fine. "After that, I have some meals that I would like to prep and get into the freezer, depending on how much you eat, I might have to make more sweets," Harumi laughed as Katsu walked back to his seat, grabbing a cookie and shoving the entire thing in his mouth.

"So more domestic stuff?" Katsu replied.

"Of course, I don't know when I will have another opportunity like this."

"In other words, your house is the place to be for dinner until you go back to work, huh?" Katsu smirked, "I'll let Tamotsu, Hideaki and Maiko's teams know."

"I hate you," Harumi replied flatly.

Katsu popped a whole cake into his mouth, chewed and then swallowed before giving Harumi a very practiced grin, boyish, with a hint of devil, "Nah, you love me."

Harumi rolled her eyes and took another bite of the mochi.

Genma looked between the two former teammates and then looked at Kakashi who seemed oblivious to everything around him, but Genma knew Kakashi better than most. He noticed the slight turn in Kakashi's body so that he was perfectly positioned to see Harumi over his book when he glanced up. He also saw the way Kakashi kept Harumi's tea cup filled and her plate always had at least one sweet on it. Apparently, Harumi also noticed because she gave Kakashi a smile as she picked up another cookie. For all of the teasing, Genma was grateful to see his friend care about something other than his missions. The fact the something was a some _one_ made it even better. Maybe Harumi would be the thing that pulled Kakashi out of this suicide spiral that he had been in for the last five years. Moving his gaze from Kakashi to Raidō, Genma saw the unspoken message there, they would need to talk to the rest of their group of friends, the two men had some huge news.

A knock on the door had pulled Genma and Raidō out of their silent conversation as Harumi sighed and walked to the front door again. Harumi opened the door, recognizing one of the chakra signatures in front of her house. Making sure her hair was pulled back and she didn't have any stray crumbs on her shirt, she opened the door with a smile.

Her eyes widened slightly at the group of people on her door step. "Itachi-san, Tenzō-san," Harumi was grateful for the extra food now, "Yoshino-oba, Uchiha-san, please come in."

Yoshino walked boldly into the house followed by Tenzō, Uchiha Mikoto and Itachi. "We are having some tea, would you like some?" Harumi asked.

"Don't trouble yourself on our account, I can easily make tea," Yoshino said.

"It is no trouble, please follow me," Harumi replied. As she walked into the kitchen Harumi tried not to let her surprise show, Kakashi was at her stove, making another pot of tea, while Katsu and Genma were busy pulling more food out. "Please, sit," Harumi gestured to the chairs. Harumi was pleased to see Raidō had put his shirt back on and the blood was gone, a henge or a spare she was not sure which, but grateful all the same.

"What brings all of you to my door this morning?" Harumi asked as the three men brought their burdens back to the table and sat back down, Genma shifting a little to make room for Tenzō.

"I just wanted to check in on you, see how you were doing this morning and I ran into Uchiha-san. When she heard where I was going, she asked to come along. I didn't know you were going to already have company, Haru-chan," Yoshino said a slight disapproving tone to her voice.

Harumi shrugged, "I didn't know I was going to have company either," giving Genma and Raidō a bright smile, "I am not complaining, company means that I can rest without having to get lost in my head with all of the things I should be doing." Harumi finished.

Kakashi pushed more food onto her plate, earning him a glare from Harumi. He just shrugged and went back to his book, which caused the glare to turn to an eye roll.

"Uchiha-san, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Harumi asked, deciding to ignore the one eyed, bossy man at her table.

Mikoto smiled, "Please call me Mikoto, and I also just wanted to check to see how you were doing. Sasuke was worried when Naruto said you were very sleepy, and you had to stay sitting all of the time."

Harumi nodded, "I can see why Naru-kun would be concerned, but I am healing just fine. If Sasuke-kun is still concerned, he is welcome to come over after the academy one day this week. I am sure Naruto and Masahiro would enjoy the company."

"I wouldn't want to impose," Mikoto replied.

Harumi smiled, "I enjoy being around my otouto and his friends." A small movement from Itachi caught her eye but before she could turn her head to look at it, Kakashi grabbed another cake and set it on her plate. When Tenzō did something, and Itachi was the one to distract her, Harumi decided there was something going on that she was not supposed to know about or at the very least her aunt and Mikoto were not to know. So, she continued to play her part of hostess.

"Yoshino-oba, how is Shikamaru doing? Do you think he will be ready for the tests coming up?"

Yoshino nodded, "If he can stay awake long enough to complete the tests, then he will do fine."

Harumi smiled, "Maiko was the same way, not motivated to do much."

"How is Maiko doing?" Yoshino asked.

"Very well, Shika-oji says that her clan jutsu is coming along nicely and soon she will be able to move onto the next stage."

"Good, good."

"Mikoto-san, how was Sasuke after our impromptu training session? Masahiro complained that he was sore."

Mikoto smiled, "Sasuke was also a little sore, but he also said it was a great training session. That he learned a lot. He also said that it was nice to see the skills he was learning being used in a practical way."

Harumi nodded, "I remember the first time I used an Academy jutsu outside the Academy, it was very shocking to find out it was actually useful."

"Harumi-kun, if you don't mind me asking, how did you come to invite Sasuke to your training session?"

Harumi glanced at Itachi, who just gave her a blank stare, with an inward sigh she interpreted that look to mean she was on her own, "I was recently sent on a mission with Itachi-san and learned he had a brother slightly younger than my youngest brother. So, we talked about how our otoutos always wanted to train with us, which lead me to extend the invitation for Itachi-san to bring his otouto to the training grounds I normally frequent with Masahiro and any of his friends he brings with him. We mainly focus on shurikenjutsu because that is mainly where the Masahiro struggles, however we do work on some chakra control exercises and basic ninjutsu that they are learning at the academy."

Mikoto nodded, "But how did you come to do these training sessions?"

Harumi shrugged, "I work at the hospital full time, so I have a set schedule for the most part, which allows me the freedom to train with my brother and his friends most days after the academy, it is also a wonderful way for me to help Masahiro get more energy out so he will sleep well at night." Harumi shrugged, "It is also something my parents used to do for me and Hideaki, so it became important for us to pass that down to Maiko and Masahiro. It takes some maneuvering, but in the end, we both feel it is worth the sacrifice."

"Does Hideaki also help your brother train?" Mikoto asked.

Harumi nodded, "He does, although it depends on his missions, since he is much better at the Nara clan jutsu than I am, it is good for Masahiro to learn from Hideaki."

"What do you do when your brother brings friends?"

"We focus on shurikenjutsu and Academy jutsus and some conditioning if the boys are driving me crazy."

Yoshino added, "Harumi has brought the boys to the Nara compound and they will work on chakra control exercises in the main courtyard and all of the children will come and train. The Yamanaka's and Akamichi kids will come over sometimes too and it becomes a huge game of ninja."

Katsu snickered, "Yes, Haru-chan is running an after-school program for shinobi."

Harumi threw him a glare, "You are just jealous because the kids like me better than you."

Katsu returned the glare, "Not true! Besides why wouldn't they like me?"

Harumi ignored him and turned back to Mikoto, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you wondering?"

Mikoto frowned, "My husband and I were wondering what your motivation is. Most people will not want to help someone outside of their clan, yet from what I have been able to gather, not only do you help the children, but you help anyone who comes to you for help."

"I am a medical nin, Mikoto-san. It is in my job description to help people. I try not to step on other people's toes when I do, but I will not turn someone away who has asked for my help."

Mikoto nodded, "I can see how that would motivate you to help adults, but why the children?"

"Children are our future. While I am fully aware that the adults in the village keep our village safe, it is the children who will take up that mantle when we can't. My parents have always said that it is the responsibility of the entire village to ensure that the next generation is motivated to keep it safe. Not because of duty but because of a deep and unfailing love for the people that make the village. The Uchiha is a vital part of this village, even if some people don't want to admit it, and therefore so are their children. If I can help Sasuke to make some friends outside of the Uchiha clan, then he will have a larger network of reasons to work hard to keep the village safe." Harumi laughed, "Already Naruto and Masahiro are making plans to train even harder so that I will not get hurt again. I would imagine that Sasuke is thinking the same thing."

While talking, Harumi saw Kakashi slip from the room, then Katsu, Tenzō, and finally Itachi followed him out. Harumi heard the distinct sound of her back door closing. With a sigh, she continued, "I hope that I'm not imposing, or overstepping any boundaries that you or your husband have in place for your family. I am always looking out for more children to introduce Masahiro to, he is a quiet boy and needs all the friends he can find."

Yoshino joined in the conversation, "If Haru-chan is honest, the main reason she keeps collecting children to introduce Masahiro too, it is because she is afraid he will not make friends on his own. I am told that is a common fear when a death in the family happens. Masahiro went through a phase when he wouldn't let any of his siblings out of sight," she paused to pour everyone at the table more tea, "This was right after both of their parents died of course."

Mikoto nodded, "Of course."

"So it is understandable that Haru-chan would be concerned about her brother's friendship circle. He needs to have more than just his siblings in order to continue if something were to happen to any of his siblings. Which given the kind of life shinobi have, is likely."

"Why do you tell my story like that Yoshino-oba?" Harumi asked, putting just enough of a whine in her tone to cause Yoshino to stare at her.

"Are you feeling alright Haru-chan?"

Harumi nodded, "I do, but maybe," Harumi yawned.

"We have kept you up, you are healing still," Yoshino cried out as she stood up, "Go lay down child, I will clean up and I will see Mikoto out. No need to worry yourself."

"But, Yoshino-oba," Harumi protested.

"But nothing. Go get some rest!"

"Yes oba," Harumi muttered, getting up and with heavier than usual steps, made her way up the stairs to her bed. She glanced out the window and didn't see any sign of the men who were in her kitchen. With a shrug, she continued into her room and lay on the bed. Closing her suddenly heavy eyes, she drifted to sleep.

 **AN: And there we go folks, another chapter down. As always, please let me know what you think.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Standard "I don't own" disclaimer"**

Kakashi, Tenzō, Itachi and Katsu stood in the center of Kakashi's apartment looking at the list in front of Kakashi.

"So, there is a lot of stuff revolving around this man in the orange mask," Tenzō mused.

"Yes, but what is the connection to Amegakure?" Itachi asked.

"That is what we need to find out," Kakashi replied.

"How are we going to do that?" Katsu asked.

"Good question," Itachi said.

"The biggest question though is are you going to let me and Katsu into the secret you two are keeping," Tenzō interrupted.

Katsu frowned, "What do you mean secret?"

Tenzō turned to Katsu, "Before this masked man came around, those two," pointing at Kakashi and Itachi, "have been investigating something that they are not telling anyone else. Now it seems like their secret mission is butting up against the masked man investigation."

Katsu leveled a frown at Kakashi, "Has Harumi-chan been in danger since you waltzed into her life?"

Kakashi shook his head, "I don't think she is in danger, the only reason she was hurt was because she was protecting Naruto, who seems to be the main target."

"But you don't know that for sure, after all, she did save Naruto, so she could be a target now," Katsu countered.

"True," Itachi interrupted Kakashi, "However the same could be said for all of us."

"I hate to say this, but I think we need to go to Hokage-sama to figure this out." Tenzō sighed.

"Maybe not to figure it out, but definatly to get a better place to continue to investigate," Kakashi agreed.

The four men, really, three men and one teen, jumped out of Kakashi's window and ran towards Hokage tower. Kakashi stopped on the window sill and knocked on the window. The Hokage turned and waved at Kakashi to come inside. Once everyone was in the room, Kakashi started the conversation, after all he was the highest ranked individual on the team. "Sir, we have run into a wall in regard to our investigation of the attack on Naruto.

"What is the wall, Kakashi?"

"As reported a few days ago, the unknown assailant who attacked Naruto, was lost in the Land of Rain, just outside of Amegakure. The masked man that is recruiting both poor civilians and S-ranked nuknin, is calling them to Amegakure. Shimizu-san mentioned that the masked man has come to these poor villages almost two weeks after the first poisoning victim dies."

"Are there any other reasons you believe Amegakure is involved?"

Itachi stepped forward, "Hai, Hokage-sama, but in order to list those, we would need permission to tell Tenzō and Katsu what is going on.

Hokage looked between the four men and flicked his wrist, a moment later the ANBU inside were gone, then pushing some chakra into a seal on his desk, the room pulsed with chakra before it too faded. "What I am about to tell you remains a SS-ranked secret. You will not speak of it outside this room and only then to the people currently in this room.

Tenzō nodded eagerly, finally he would be let in on this mission.

Katsu looked slightly puzzled but nodded anyway, why would this be such a secret?

Sarutobi continued, "A number of months ago there was an attack on the child known as Uzamaki Naruto, he was left for dead just outside of the village. Thankfully he was found and brought to me and the medical nin were able to heal him. After he regained consciousness, it was discovered that he was afraid of the Sharingan. This coupled with the continued unrest with the Uchiha clan has led to the conclusion that Naruto's attacker was an Uchiha. However, it has come to our attention that there is a rogue Uchiha running around the country, collecting nuknin and bringing them to Amegakure.

Tenzō nodded slowly, Kakashi was right, they needed to get into Ame.

"I have sent for Jiriya and he will be here in a couple days and hopefully he will give us more information on what is going on in Amegakure," Sarutobi continued. "Now Itachi-kun, what did you want to add?"

"Simply that there is someone in the Uchiha clan that is claiming to have seen Uchiha Madara shortly before the latest attack on Naruto.

Kakashi blinked, "Isn't Madara dead?"

"So, I have been told," Hokage said.

"Then who could it be?"

"That would be something to figure out. Let us hear from Jiriya first, then we can better plan. So, for now, continue about your lives," Sarutobi glanced at the small clock on his desk, "Shouldn't you be picking Naruto-kun up from the Academy soon?"

"Kakashi nodded, "I am on my way. Let me know when Jiriya shows up." Then Kakashi jumped out the window he entered not that long ago.

The rest of the men looked at each other before following Kakashi out the window. Itachi was thankful that Hokage had spared telling the team about the unrest within the Uchiha clan and how much they were unhappy with their situation and the lengths they were willing to go to retrieve their status.

Kakashi jumped into a small open space between Harumi and the fence just before the classes let out. Kakashi grinned when Harumi didn't even glance up from the book she was reading. Looking over her shoulder he saw that is was not in fact his Icha Icha book, but a recipe book. "Thinking of making something new?" he asked.

Harumi nodded, "I was thinking of trying a curry, I haven't had curry in a very long time, not since I went on a mission a long time ago. However recently I have been craving it, so I figured I would give it a try. One of the Akimichi women let me borrow this recipe book with different curry and naan recipes."

"Can Naruto and I come over when you make it?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course. Are you two coming over for training?"

Kakashi shrugged, "I was thinking about it, depends on how Naruto did today."

Harumi grinned and shifted slightly, bumping her shoulder into Kakashi's, "Using my house as a reward? Nice job Kaka-nii."

Kakashi returned her smile with one of his own. A crashing sound had both adults' focus moving to the front doors of the Academy. The doors crashed open reveling a large crowd of children rushing to leave. It was easy to spot Naruto's bright yellow hair in the crowd, then he spotted Masahiro, who surprisingly was talking to Sasuke in an animated fashion including lots of hand motions.

Harumi smothered a laugh as the three came closer and she heard Naruto whisper "Quiet, Haru-neechan and Kaka-nii!"

Harumi glanced over at Kakashi, "Why do I get a feeling the boys pulled another prank today?"

"I am sure we will be getting another letter from the teacher," Kakashi sighed.

"Lets just hope that didn't cause too many problems or will require too much cleanup," Harumi whispered back. Then raising her voice, she smiled, "So did you boys have a good day today?"

"Yes Harumi-neechan," came two innocent replies. Sasuke just looked at between Harumi and Kakashi.

"Sasuke-kun, who is picking you up today?" Harumi asked.

Sasuke shrugged, "I'm a big boy, I don't need someone walking me home."

Harumi nodded, "I understand. Would you mind if I walked with you, I need to stop by a weapons shop near the Police station and I would feel so much better if I had someone to make sure that I don't get too tired."

Sasuke's face was very serious as he nodded, "I would be honored to escort you, Harumi-san."

Harumi nodded, "No, thank you Sasuke-kun. Kakashi-san, do you think you could help me? I have to pick up some new senbons and a few things from the market, I could use some help bringing it all back.

Kakashi gave Harumi a knowing smile, "Of course Harumi-san, I would be honored to help you."

The two adults and three boys made their way to the street and moving away from their homes to the Uchiha compound. The three boys quickly ran ahead of the two adults. Harumi tucked her book away, while Kakashi pulled his out, Harumi rolled her eyes as she caught sight of the henged cover.

"How do you like it so far?" she asked.

"I like it," Kakashi replied, "the author does a good job of taking you through a typical day as a merchant, without being boring. The main character is funny, giving the customers nicknames by their most prominent feature, like Smelly-san."

Harumi grinned, "I agree, the humor is why I think I enjoyed the series so much."

"Will you get the last book soon?"

"I think I will pick it up before I head over to the hospital on Friday."

"Alright," Kakashi murmured.

Harumi watched as his eyes moved across the page then move to look at their surroundings. Harumi kept glancing at the boys in front of her. They were busy talking, again with lots of hand motions. Rolling her eyes at whatever Naruto was trying to act out, from the looks of it, someone was shocked and jumped around, but she could be wrong. Concentrating on her breathing and keeping her steps even, Harumi made the decision that she would not be doing her evening katas like she had planned. She was getting tired already, stupid body.

The boys stopped in front of the weapons shop, Harumi was heading towards. The owner was one of the few shinobi who was able to specialize in weapons forging. He not only sold some of the best weapons around, but he could also create special designs. Harumi was picking up some specially created senbons. These senbons had a small little notch in each end to either allow for more poison to puddle in the tip or to use wire to launch the senbons. It was difficult to get the small notch to not change the composition for the points. It took Harumi and Tadashi months to get it right, so now these senbons had become her specialty weapon.

"Hello Harumi-san!" came the booming voice from the back of the store.

"Tadashi-san!" Harumi replied.

"I heard you got yourself into some trouble the other day," Tadashi said, walking out from the back of his shop wiping his hands with a dirty cloth.

Harumi shrugged, "Nothing I couldn't handle, besides trouble makes life interesting."

Tadashi laughed, "I hear you there. So," he continued walking to the counter, reaching down and pulled out a bundle of senbons, "I take it you are here for these?"

Harumi walked forward, watching the boys from the corner of her eye, "I was hoping you had them finished so I thought I would stop by."

Tadashi held one of the senbons out to her to inspect, "I had to modify the point of the senbon, instead of it being a single point, I made it more like a snake's tongue, or fangs," he pointed out the modification. "You can see that the other end of the senbon doesn't have that deep of an indent."

Harumi nodded as she ran her fingers across the modifications, "This looks great! I will have to send a set to Shizune to see if they would work on her wrist launcher."

Tadashi grinned, "I am glad you like them, did you need anything else?"

"I need another two dozen rubber tip for my senbon, some of my current ones are getting to loose to stay on when I throw them."

Tadashi nodded, "Still working with your brats?"

Harumi laughed at the outraged 'hey!'s from behind her, "Not sure about the brat part, but yes, I am still working with the boys."

Tadashi grabbed a handful of tips, put them in a bag along with the senbon and handed the bag to Harumi. After telling her the total, the two exchanged some more pleasantries before Harumi waved as she walked out the door with the boys in front of her and Kakashi trailing behind.

Sasuke ran ahead of the two boys when a familiar head came into view outside of the Uchiha compound front gates. Naruto and Masahiro ran after the boy and they all crowded around Itachi, Sasuke was busy telling Itachi about his day, with Masahiro and Naruto filling in some details. Itachi listened and nodded when appropriate. He gave Harumi and Kakashi a slight nod when they approached the small group. After a few minutes of this, Itachi spoke up, "Sasuke, were you going to invite your friends over for tea, or are you going to bid them good by, so they may get to their home in time for tea?"

Sasuke looked at his friends, then up at Itachi who was staring at Harumi. Sasuke followed his gaze and saw that Harumi, while smiling was looking paler than she had when she met them at the academy. He looked back to Itachi and couldn't figure out what he should say.

Thankfully Harumi took the decision out of his hands, "Thank you for the invitation, Itachi, but I really need to get back home. I have some things that I need finish before dinner time. However, if you two wanted, you are both welcome to come over for tea later this week if you can make it. I am sure Masahiro and Naruto would be happy to have you over and you three could train afterwards."

Itachi nodded, glancing at Kakashi who also nodded, "If we can make it, we will be honored."

Naruto and Masahiro waved goodbye to their friend and the foursome walked slowly back towards the Shimizu home. The walk home was uneventful, even if Harumi was walking slower and slower as she got closer to her house. The boys ran straight into her house, as Harumi just collapsed onto the chair in front of her house.

"I'm done," she told Kakashi. "I did too much and now I am going to pay for it."

"Is this the point where your sister will come in and tell you that she told you so?" Kakashi asked.

Harumi rolled her eyes, "Only if you tell her. I am going to rest here, and you are going to make sure the boys don't eat all the sweets and make me some tea. Homework should be a minimum, so they will want to come out here to play."

Kakashi bowed his head, "Yes, Harumi-san, whatever you say, Harumi-san."

Harumi laughed as Kakashi walked inside to do what she told him to do.

"When Kakashi came back out, Harumi was sleeping in the chair. Setting the tea cup down on the small table near her, he went inside to make sure they boys didn't wake her up. Watching two boys do homework was not that different from watching just Naruto doing homework.

"Once they were both done and Kakashi looked over their work, he took them out back and let them practice throwing. Naruto whined a little about aiming being too easy, so finally Kakashi took a shuriken and a kunai from his own weapons pouch and had the boys watch as he threw the shuriken then with a spin he threw the kunai. A loud ting showed the kunai had pinned the shuriken to the center of the target. It was a fairly standard trick, one that most shinobi can accomplish with some practice.

"When you can do that, consistently, then Naruto can you start working on more complicated throws," Kakashi told the young blonde.

"That is cool Kaka-nii! I am going to learn to do that before Masa-kun, believe it!" Naruto shouted.

Masahiro shrugged, knowing Naruto well enough to not contradict him to, which helps to avoid the inevitable fight over who was better.

Kakashi nodded and handed both boys a brace of shuriken and three kunai, knowing that the shuriken will be most likely to get lost in this exercise. Also knowing that Masahiro is the one most likely to learn the trick first. Naruto had the drive to be the Hokage, but he had a hard time learning new things, although he had gotten much better since he had been working with Kakashi, Harumi and Masahiro, but it still took him a while to get things.

Kakashi stayed behind the boys, giving advice on how to time their throws and how to figure out angles of trajectory. Not that the boys could understand all of what he was saying, but Kakashi was convinced it was the thought that counted, besides they would understand once they actually did it. Not once did he pull out his book, knowing that Harumi would be upset if something happened to the boys while she was sleeping. Kakashi watched as the boys threw the shuriken again and again, then throwing the kunai, missing the shuriken but hitting the target, more often than not. Kakashi was going to count that as a win.

"Hey, what are you guys doing out here?" Maiko asked, jumping down from the house near them.

"Nee-chan is sleeping, so Kakashi brought us out here so we don't wake her up!" Masahiro answered before turning back to the target and frowning in concentration as he started to throw his shuriken.

"That is probably a good idea, she hasn't been sleeping well. What are you doing?"

"Kaka-nii showed us a really neat throwing trick and we are going to do it!" Naruto replied.

"Oh, what trick?"

"Kaka-nii, can you show Maiko-san?" Naruto asked a slight whine to his voice.

""Maa, only because you asked, nicely," Kakashi answered and again, threw the shuriken, then with a casual toss to put the kunai in his throwing hand, he threw the kunai. A loud thump with a slight metallic note, herald that he completed the trick again.

Maiko grinned, "I remember my tou-san doing something like that with Hideaki, only he had an exploding tag attached to his kunai."

"So, you know how to do that?" Masahiro asked.

"Not as well as Kakashi-san here, but I can manage this part."

"What do you mean? There are more parts?"

Maiko nodded, "Hideaki got up to five shuriken kunai combinations."

"Naruto's eyes got wide, "How many can you do Kaka-nii?"

Kakashi shrugged, it had been a long time since he needed to do anything like this, but he had been up to five before he decided that he didn't need tricks anymore, he was a shinobi not a kid. "It has been a while since I did more than five, but I guess with practice, I could do more."

Masahiro and Naruto shared a look, "Really? Think you could show us?" Masahiro asked.

"Maybe you should ask Hideaki or Itachi if they could show you how many they can do," Kakashi suggested.

""Why Itachi-san?" Naruto asked.

"The Uchiha are the ones that started this trick, as a way to practice for the more complicated throwing they do." Kakashi answered.

""Really?" the boys asked in stereo.

Kakashi nodded.

Maiko grinned, "I would ask Hideaki first, I am sure he would to show off for you two."

Masahiro grinned again, "Yeah! My nii-san is awesome!"

A laugh from behind them had everyone turning around to see the laughing face of Harumi standing in the doorway. "Come and wash up, dinner is ready for you all. After dinner you can continue to talk about who has better group quietly marched into the house and washed up. Maiko heading upstairs to quickly clean up from training. Hideaki was already setting the table. It was a quiet dinner, the conversation carried mostly by the two youngest in the group. Kakashi read the book Harumi gave to him and was content, a new feeling, but one that was not a scary one.

After dinner, Harumi sent the boys upstairs to play quietly while she cleaned up. The boys were happy with the arrangement because it meant more time together. The older two were tired and after clearing off the table, said their goodnights and went to bed. Harumi laughed as the two were complaining about who had the worse day and Hideaki was winning, which Harumi assumed would be the case since he arrived home covered in mud.

After the kitchen was cleaned up and the beginnings of lunch for tomorrow was made, Harumi made herself a cup of tea and poured Kakashi a glass of sake before taking them out to where he was sitting on the chairs on the porch. Harumi set the glass down next to Kakashi and sat down in her chair, took a sip of tea and started reading her book. Listening to the soft sounds of the boys playing a card game, Harumi was happy and very content with her life.

The rest of the week progressed pretty normally, they fell into a routine that had Kakashi and Naruto coming over after school and staying through dinner until right before bedtime. After Harumi would finish cleaning up after dinner, the boys would go and play a quiet game, Maiko and Hideaki would do their own preparing or resting, while Harumi and Kakashi would sit outside in the cooling air and read their books. Every once in a while, Harumi or Kakashi would ask a question about something they read or just to comment on what they read.

 **AN: Thank you for reading this far. I hope you are enjoying. Please forgive any grammar or spelling errors, I am in the process of moving and am uploading this chapter from my phone.**


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: Standard I don't own the Naruto Characters, just my OCs.**

On Friday, Harumi was given the official documentation for her to return to work, as a celebration, she was invited by a couple of the nurses to go with them for a few drinks after work on her first day back to work. Since they were on a different shift than she was, she would meet them after their shift which would be right before Masahiro's bed time and Maiko would be back from her mission. Although, Harumi mused, she could always have Masahiro spend the night with Yoshino-oba if he didn't want to be home alone for a couple hours.

That weekend, Harumi continued to make meals and put them in the freezer to ensure there was plenty of meals for her younger siblings to make if she was late at the hospital. She also made a number of cookies, mochi and dango to put into lunches or to use as snack. Hideaki was on a mission and would be home before the end of the weekend, while Maiko was stuck in the village while her sensei was needed for a different mission. It was just Harumi and Masahiro who really wanted to learn the kunai and shuriken trick so spent as much time as he could on practicing. Before Hideaki left, he gave Masahiro a few tips, but mostly it was just practice that he needed, so he practiced.

Kakashi and Naruto came over for dinner and where Harumi told Kakashi of her plans for her first day back to work.

"Maiko and Masahiro will be here for dinner and shortly before I leave, Hideaki should be back, so there will be plenty of people to make sure Masahiro doesn't try to burn the house down," Harumi laughed at her brother's outraged face.

"I only did that once and it was because I was little!" he defended himself.

"I know, otouto, I am just teasing you," Harumi laughed as she ruffled her brother's hair.

"So," Naruto asked swallowing his mouthful of food, "why are you not going to be here for bedtime?"

"I was invited by a few of the people I work with to go out with them for a little bit to celebrate being able to go back to work at the hospital," Harumi explained.

"Why can't we go?" Naruto pouted.

"Because," Harumi pointed out, "this is for adults only and you, Naru-chan are not an adult."

"What happens if Hideaki or Maiko are not here?" Masahiro asked.

"You are old enough to be by yourself for a couple hours, Masa-kun," Harumi reminded him, "If that bothers you, then you can go spend the night with Shikamaru." Noting the frown on his face, Harumi continued, "You don't have to decide right now, you have a couple days."

The rest of the weekend went smoothly, the freezer was full of easy to prepare foods, the pantry was stalked with sweets, Harumi was ready to be at the hospital. She had already finished the first two Icha Icha books, Kakashi was nice enough to lend her one of his copies. Kakashi and Harumi had a few discussions about character development in the second book versus the first. They talked about the believability of either story. It was a good discussion, it was nice to talk to someone about the books she read, it was nice to be able to just read.

Harumi's first day back at the hospital was a normal day. She took Masahiro to the Academy then walked to the hospital. Naruto was excited, he could now get the kunai to hit the target, but he needed to work on getting the shuriken and kunai to meet. Masahiro was having the opposite problem where he could get the kunai to hit the shuriken but not the target. The boys were debating on the benefits to asking Sasuke or Itachi for help. Her shift at the hospital was very normal, mostly shinobi who had been hurt while on mission, lots of cuts, concussions and broken limbs. No poisons, no deaths and no dying children, so Harumi thought it was a good day. With a promise to meet at the Rusty Shuriken in a couple hours, Harumi left to go and pick up Masahiro. Homework, training and dinner were wholly uneventful, Maiko and Hideaki were able to make it.

After dinner was cleaned up, Harumi went upstairs to get ready for her night out. It had been a long time since she had done something like this, but according to Tamotsu, she needed to go out at least once a month in order to maintain relationships with people, to remind herself why she is working so hard at the hospital. Tamotsu has always been smart about those things. It was too easy for Harumi to get lost in her brain with the different puzzles she encountered, while Katsu tended to react emotionally first before his brain kicked in.

Looking in her closet, Harumi tried to decide what to wear. She knew the women from the hospital would be coming straight from the hospital, but she also saw that they had some extra clothes hanging in the changing room. However, she didn't want to be over dressed, so she pulled out a few options before walking into the bathroom and pulled her hair out of the bun she had put it in this morning. Her naturally straight hair having a slight wave from drying in the bun, she ran her fingers through the length and looked in the mirror. "Down," she muttered to herself, it was a good way to dress up any outfit and it screamed off duty too. Putting a little eye makeup on, just enough to make her eyes stand out, a small amount of pink lip color and she was done.

"Now for the outfit," she sighed as she looked at her options. She picked up one of her black skirts, that was easy since she wore skirts when not on mission, her options for a shirt were her normal black shirt, a black crop top or a black tank top. Frowning at all those options she went to dig through her wardrobe, she must have some color somewhere.

"Ah ha!" she called out a few moments later, holding up a dark purple tank top that ended right above her belly button. She then pulled her lavender shawl out and put it over her shoulders to ward off the chill that was bound to come later that night. Exchanging her normal small hoop earrings for a pair of her mother's long dangling ones, Harumi decided her outfit was complete.

"How do I look?" Harumi asked Maiko after walking down stairs and into the living area were Maiko and Hideaki were playing a game of shogi.

Maiko looked up and moved her finger in a circular motion indicating that Harumi should turn around. "You look good nee-chan," she replied after Harumi was done turning. "It is good to see you in something other than black."

Harumi rolled her eyes, "There is nothing wrong with black."

"Of course not, but it is nice to remember there are other colors in the world," Maiko replied.

"Oh, that is rich coming from you," Hideaki snickered, pointely looking at Maiko's outfit of a black high necked, sleeveless tunic with slits in the front and back to allow for more movement and black shorts, along with her usual black elbow length fingerless gloves and knee high shinobi sandals, Maiko was a walking billboard of black.

Harumi shook her head at the old conversation about color, Hideaki wore a brown vest over a green mesh armored shirt and black pants, which he insisted meant he could blend in better to the forests around Konoha. While Maiko insisted that black was a better color for blending in because she could blend in anywhere.

"I'll be back in a couple hours," Harumi called, ignoring the age-old argument.

"Bye nee-chan!" Masahiro yelled.

"Have a good time," Maiko added.

"Don't do anything you will regret in the morning," Hideaki added helpfully.

Harumi laughed as she slipped on her shoes and walked out the door.

The Rusty Shuriken was a bar located in the middle of the shinobi area of the village. It was the bar where civilians came to pick up a shinobi to live life dangerously, where shinobi would go to relax and socialize, as much as a paranoid, always ready to be stabbed in the back, group could relax. Harumi walked in to the darken interior and glanced around. Not seeing the nurses, she walked over to the bar to get a glass of wine. Nodding to the few people she knew there, Harumi focused on looking relaxed. A loud voice caused her to look at the door and saw the nurses had arrived. Smiling she held up her hand as the women all gathered together and squealed and complimented each other on their clothing, hair or makeup. After the initial greetings, the group of women walked over to an open booth and fell into the seats.

"My feet are killing me," was the common complaint. Harumi understood, while not an unusual day at the hospital, it was still busy, and they all did lots of walking. The waitress came over and took their order, Harumi getting some more wine and the women getting a small platter of food to share. Oyone, one of the nurses asked for a bottle of sake and enough glasses for everyone. Once the sake was delivered, she quickly poured everyone a cup, held it up and made a toast.

"To Harumi-kun's speedy recovery. Thank kami she is back so we don't have to listen to that Kabuto-san anymore!" The women broke down laughing at the end of the toast before drinking.

Harumi grimaced at the burn the sake left in its wake.

"So, Harumi, what did you do while on leave?" Sukui asked.

"Not much, mainly read books, caught up on all the chores I have been avoiding and doing some light workouts," she replied.

"Were you hurt that badly?"

"I was mostly tired, regenerating my chakra and having it repair my coils meant my body was doing a lot of healing itself. So, I made sure to take naps, which ended up being harder than I thought because people kept stopping over to see how I was." That brought a laugh to the table, "I know, why people think that rest means just sitting down is beyond me."

The conversation quickly broke down into crazy patient stories or annoying patient stories. The annoying being more plentiful than the crazy, but still entertaining.

"Now there is an ass I could see myself hanging on to," Sukui interrupted the latest story. The whole table turned to follow Sukui's gaze.

Harumi groaned as she saw the now familiar dark brown hair covered by a blue bandana. She hid her face in her hands when said man turned around, the senbon missing from his lips, but not the flirtatious grin.

"Hello ladies," Genma said, his voice smooth and husky, "Mind if I join you?"

Harumi contemplated the use of banging her head against the table but decided against it when Sukui replied, "Of course you can cutie! I haven't seen you around for a while."

"A friend has been out of town for a while and he just got back, some other friends wanted to meet up here tonight," Genma replied as he sat down next to Sukui and people on that side of the table shifted to make room.

Instead of hitting her head, she took a gulp of her wine, just what she needed to deal with Genma and his teasing and flirting. A glance showed that Raidō's calming influence was absent. Harumi sighed, this was going to be a long night, especially if Genma saw her. That thought brightened her thoughts up, maybe he wouldn't see her and therefore would leave her alone.

A glance at Genma effectively killed that thought, he was grinning in her direction, but curiously he didn't do anything, so Harumi shrugged and grabbed some food off the platter.

"So where are your friends?" Genma looked around, "Not sure, they should be here soon. I am not sure who they were going to be able to scrounge up, it is last minute."

Harumi rolled her eyes and turned away from Genma to continue to talk to some of the other people at her table and left Sukui to flirt with Genma.

It wasn't long before Harumi realized her glass was empty, a quick shake of the bottle showed that it was empty too, so with a sigh Harumi called out to Genma, "Genma! Could you get me another bottle of plum wine?"

Genma nodded and stood up. Genma took two steps when a civilian man, from the way he walked, came over to the table. He was clearly drunk when he leaned over the table and over the women to say, "Hey there good-looking lady, you looking for a good time?"

Harumi waved a hand in front of her face trying to dispel the sake fumes coming from this man's mouth. "No, I'm not."

"Aww, come one. Everyone knows that the only reason civilians come here is because they are looking for a good time. And baby, I can give you a good time," his words were noticeable slurred, and Harumi was grateful for her strong gag reflex, this man reeked of sake. Harumi jerked her head away from the man as his face got closer and closer to hers, but before she could do anything, he was ripped away from the table.

Genma held the man by the back of his shirt and gave him a smile, that really had too many teeth showing to really be called a smile. "The lady said no, which means you turn around and leave her alone." The drunk man nodded, he eyes wide in fear. Genma 'helped' the man move away from the table with a slight push in the direction the man came from, unfortunately the man was not very steady on his feet and ended up sprawled on the floor.

"Oops," Genma said looking down at the man on the floor, before looking around for the waitress, when he had her attention, he held up the bottle of plum wine and she nodded.

Having ordered Harumi's wine, he sat back down. Harumi smiled and mouthed, "Thank you," to which Genma smiled and nodded. Harumi continued with her conversation only mildly worried that Genma's friends hadn't shown up yet. However, it was at a break in the conversation that Harumi looked up and noticed that Genma was glaring at every male that started to approach the table. In fact, men would go across the bar to avoid coming close to their table. Harumi frowned at this.

Harumi turned to look at the other people on her side of the table, "Scoot over, I want to get out." The two women next to her moved and Harumi stood up. "Can I get anyone anything while I'm up?" An order for more snacks came and Harumi nodded then grabbed Genma's arm and said, "Come with me please." Once they were away from the table Harumi hissed, "What are you doing?"

Genma blinked at her, his eyes widening slightly, "I don't know what you are talking about, Haru-chan."

Harumi glared at Genma as they placed their order at the bar with their waitress, "You know exactly what I am talking about, you are turning into a big, over protective brother!"

Genma grinned, "I am just following orders."

"Orders? Whose orders?" Genma hesitated for just a fraction of a second, but Harumi jumped on it. "Who was it? Katsu? Tamotsu? Shikaku-oji?" Genma was giving nothing away, so Harumi continued, "It wasn't Hokage-sama, he could care less if I went out, it wasn't the head of the hospital because he knows that we are responsible." Harumi frowned, "Kakashi?"

Genma's eyebrow twitched.

"Are you kidding me?!" Harumi screeched.

Genma gave a small shrug, "I only know that I was supposed to keep the leeches away from you and your friends until my friends got here. Oh, hey look at that they are here, gotta go, bye!"

"Genma! What." Harumi watched as Genma walked to a table near the one her friends were at and sat down next to Raidō. Harumi stomped her way over to Genma to demand more answers when an arm slipped around her waist, halting her movement.

Instead of headbutting the person holding her, Harumi decided to stomp on his foot instead. The now familiar chakra signature informing her of who her captor was. "Damn it Kakashi!"

Kakashi gave a small chuckle, "Now Haru-chan, don't be mad at me."

Harumi turned around, Kakashi's arm dropped from around her waist, "Why did you tell Genma to act like an overprotective older brother?"

Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "I didn't tell him that, I just asked him that if he got here before the rest of us to make sure that you were able to have a good time and not be bothered by anyone." He held his hands up in surrender, "That is all, I swear."

Harumi shook her head, "Okay then, why did you ask him to make sure no one bothered us?"

"I just wanted to make sure you had a good time."

Harumi tilted her head and examined Kakashi, between his mask and the forehead protector across his eye, there wasn't much available to judge his mood or sincerity, but Kakashi's eye was wide and clear, holding her gaze levelly, which lead her to believe that he was telling the truth. "Why, Kakashi?"

Genius that he is, Kakashi was always stumped by emotional anything, however he did have a reason that had nothing to do with the emotions he was refusing to acknowledge, "You are the closest Naruto has to a mother figure, you are my teammate in protecting Naruto. I refuse to let my teammates be hurt in a situation that I can control," Kakashi shrugged again, "This bar is an easy place for people to get the wrong idea. So, I just wanted to make sure that you would have fun, without having to worry about men and women bothering you."

Harumi sighed and shook her head, "Oh Kakashi, what am I going to do with you? I already have two teammates who think they are my older brothers, I really don't need another. However, I will say that your heart was in the right place, even if I do not approve of your methods."

Kakashi looked at her, "Are we good?"

Harumi nodded and gave Kakashi a hug, ignoring the sudden tension in his body, "We are good, but I reserve the right to be mad at you for a little while longer. However, I promise not to poison your dinner tomorrow or neglect Naruto's lunch."

Kakashi's eye crinkled into his eye smile, then he followed Harumi to her table before heading to the table with Genma, Surotobi Asuma, Raidō and Yūhi Kurenai. Taking a seat next to Asuma, Kakashi leaned back, took one of the sake glasses offered and drank it in one gulp.

Kurenai laughed, "Woman trouble, Kakashi?"

Genma leaned over Raidō to answer, "You have no idea, Kurenai. Our friend Kakashi is in something that looks like a relationship."

Asuma and Kurenai turned to look at Kakashi, who was suddenly rethinking the whole plan to stay here and watch out for Harumi, without his book!

"Really?" Asuma asked.

Kakashi groaned, "I am not in a relationship with Shizumi Harumi. Her youngest brother is best friends with Naruto, so we spend time together."

"I heard that she landed in the hospital making sure you were safe," Kurenai said.

Kakashi's hand twitched, he was really regretting leaving his book at home, "She ended up in the hospital because someone poisoned her."

"I heard that you have spending a lot of time over at her house," Asuma said.

A hand on Kakashi's shoulder stopped him from replying, however the hand was quickly forgotten as the third book in the series that Harumi started reading appeared in front of him and the throaty laugh of Harumi interrupted him.

"Yes, Kakashi is spending time at my house, but it would be more accurate to say that Naruto is spending time at my house because I haven't been up to going to the training grounds like we normally would. Both Naruto and Masahiro have been very patient with my lack of stamina lately."

Kakashi frowned, "You were in the hospital for two nights. If you didn't work there, they would have kept you there for the rest of the week. You are not supposed to have your usual stamina."

Genma raised an eyebrow and shared a leering grin with Raidō, "If you need some tips on how to work on Harumi's stamina, Kakashi, I can give you some pointers."

Harumi and Kurenai gave a horrified yell and Kakashi kicked Genma under the table. Genma gave a yelp of surprise and from the pain, Kakashi could kick hard.

Harumi shook her head, "Genma, one day your mouth is going to get you in trouble." Turning to face Kakashi, she waved the book again, "I just finished this at work, since you are here, now I don't have to remember to give it to you tomorrow," Harumi pressed the book into his hand, "I hope you enjoy it and we can talk about it when you are done."

Kurenai looked at the cover, "Is that a normal book?" she asked slightly shocked.

Harumi shrugged, "Naruto doesn't like to read, so in an effort to encourage both Naruto and Masahiro to at least read more, Kakashi and I have made it a point to read in front of them and to hold a book discussion in front of them."

"Is it working?" Asuma asked.

Harumi shrugged, "I don't know yet, but Masahiro is excited about the idea of a book about pirates, while Naruto went to a book store to make sure I had things to keep me from being too bored while I was in the hospital and on medical leave." With a wave Harumi moved away from Kakashi's group, "I didn't mean to interrupt you, have a good rest of your night." Harumi gave the book one last glance before going back to her friends.

Kakashi's friends turned to stare at him. "What?" he asked, opening the book to the first page which revealed the very familiar and comforting scene from the first Icha Icha. Kakashi grinned under his mask, Harumi officially was his new favorite person. He did wonder if she henged the book, or it was just a small genjutsu. He would have to ask her later.

"You are reading something other than porn," Asuma gasped.

Kakashi bit back a giggle, little did they know.

"You let a woman into your personal space, and it wasn't part of a mission!" Raidō pointed out.

Kakashi looked at the book in his hand and shrugged, "Hau-chan is the closest thing to a mother figure that Naruto has, and it is healthy for child development to form attachments to people and create their own family unit."

"Huh?" Genma asked.

"It is important for children to create family bonds, this includes siblings and parents. In Naruto's life, I am the father figure, Harumi is the mother figure, Hokage is the grandfather, while Harumi's siblings help to round out the family," Kakashi explained slowly. "So, in order to maintain and nurture these bonds that Naruto is creating, I have to make sacrifices."

Asuma looked at Genma, Raidō then Kurenai, "Anyone else convinced they are under some sort of elaborate genjutsu?"

Kurenai looked at Kakashi very calculating, "I think it is sweet that Kakashi is taking this guardianship so seriously."

Kakashi swallowed nervously, a woman who used that tone of voice was planning something, more than likely something painful to the person she was talking too or about.

However, before anything more could be said on the subject, a platter of food was dropped on the table. Kakashi looked up and groaned, the women from Harumi's table surrounded Kakashi's table.

Oyone put her hand on her hip and said, "Harumi told us not to butt in, but since you all seem to know her, and this is a celebration on her returning to the hospital, we voted and decided to come and crash your party."

Sukui grinned and winked at Genma, "It seems only fair since you crashed her party first. And frankly for a minute, I was sure your crashing meant that Harumi was going to storm off."

"Or put you in the hospital with a mild poison racing through your system."

"Or a paralytic, remember that time when a shinobi got all handsy during the festival and Harumi just pulled a senbon out of her hair and scratched the guy with it and calmly walked away?" Taji giggled.

"Oh that was wonderful," Oyone started to laugh, "You forgot the best part, she pulled the senbon out of her hair and it fell down her shoulders in this waterfall, I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head and there Harumi is, walking towards him, all wiggles and jiggles," she ran her hands up her torso starting at her hips and ending just below her armpits, "she then leans so close there are only centimeters between the two and she whispers something, practically on his lips. I swear that man never knew what hit him."

"Anyway," Taji continued, "He ended up in the hospital for the next two days while paralytic ran through his system and the doctors made sure that there were no lasting effects. Not that Harumi would use something deadly against her allies, but still, I don't think I have seen that particular shinobi putting his hands where they are not wanted anymore."

Genma's mouth dropped, "That was you?" he asked incredulous and slightly horrified.

Harumi could feel her ears heat up as she blushed, "Yes, but in my defense, he deserved it. He wouldn't stop, even after multiple women told him to."

Kurenai clapped her hands, "I remember that, I also remember telling a few of the other kunoichi that we needed to throw the person who did that a party!"

Shaking her head, Harumi just sat next to Kakashi, practically on his lap, if Genma's eyes were not mistaken.

"It was one time."

Taji started to laugh, "Yes, you only paralyzed a man at a festival one time, but you have to admit, you do have a tendency to lose your temper and send people to the hospital."

Harumi shrugged, "It has been known to happen. But I do ask nicely first, then threaten. If none of that works, then force is required."

Raidō looks shocked and turns to Genma, "This is the woman you describe is sweeter than sugar? The one that we had to track down because she is the only person you trust to look at your injuries?" Laying his head down into his hands Raidō groans, "You are going to get me killed one day."

Genma patted Raidō on the back, "You came out of her house in one piece and she hasn't done anything to you, so you are fine."

Harumi looked at Kakashi and rolled her eyes, "I'm not that bad, am I?"

Kakashi replied with a shrug, engrossed in his book.

Harumi decided that she had enough of Genma so with an evil grin she poured another round of sake before holding a cup out to Genma, "Drink?" she asked.

Harumi's friends all laughed at how pale Genma got and he shook his head. Harumi rolled her eyes, brought the cup to her lips and downed the contents in a single gulp. Then the conversation at the table started up again, this time telling stories from when they were all kids. The crazy things they had done. The shinobi at the table had more interesting tales because they had gone on missions while still children, but the nurses all had tales of accidental poisoning, people being sick at the sight of blood and other types of stories. Harumi joined in when she had a story to tell. Kakashi was notably silent, but Harumi could feel his shoulders shaking with laughter at some of the stories.

It was a few hours later that Harumi got up, "I have an early morning, so I need to go. Thank you all for the laughs and the memorable party." Giving hugs to her friends and a wave to the shinobi in the group, Harumi turned to walk out.

"I'll come with you," Kakashi slid out of his seat, threw some money on the table and followed Harumi out.

"Not in a relationship, my ass," Kurenai muttered, watching to two walks out the door.

Oyone nodded, "Harumi might not look at this as a relationship, but as a healing. That man is the walking wounded and Harumi can't stand to see someone hurting."

Genma looked at Oyone, "Are you saying that she is playing with Kakashi's feelings?"

Oyone shook her head, "Not at all. Harumi will say that she is helping a friend, or some other excuse along those lines. She will even tell herself that she is just helping her friend to heal from an injury because we can all see he is wounded. However, she will not call it a relationship, because a relationship requires total commitment and that is something, she will not be able to give him. Because her siblings will always come first, so he better not ask her to choose between him or them. They will always win."

Genma looked at his friends and felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, "So in other words, even if we can get Kakashi to admit that this is a relationship, Harumi will never call it that?"

Sukui shrugged her shoulders before picking up her handbag and slinging it over her shoulder, "Who knows, maybe those two will be able to make a relationship work, but for now, just let them figure it out."

Taji sighed, "They would make beautiful babies." The nurses all shared a laugh, then with a wave turned and walked out the door in a group.

Genma looked at his friends and shook his head, "I hoped Harumi would be the one to break through to Kakashi, and it looks like she is working on it. But we all know that if she is not going to give him total commitment, Kakashi might not survive the fall out."

Kurenai took one last drink and stood up, "The nurses seem to know Harumi-san better than we do, so I am going to agree with their advice to just let them figure it out. If either Kakashi or Harumi want some advice from us, they will ask, but until then, all we can do it watch." Asuma also stood up and placing a hand on Kurenai's lower back, the two walked away, leaving Genma and Raidō with the bill. Genma grumbled but paid after losing a quick game of rock, paper, scissors with Raidō.

Meanwhile the two people being discussed by their friends were slowly walking through the quiet streets of Konoha. Harumi pulled her shawl closer around her shoulders as a slight breeze ruffled her hair and caused goose bumps to appear along her arms. The two walked quietly for a while, Harumi enjoying the cool quiet in contrast to the heat and noise of the bar. Kakashi put his book away and was watching the sky, noting the stars and the location of the moon.

"Did you have a good time?" Harumi asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "I guess so."

Harumi frowned, "What do you mean you guess? It isn't a difficult question, you either had fun or you didn't."

"Harumi, I didn't go to the Rusty Shuriken for fun or to have a good time. I went because it is expected of me because Asuma had returned from an extended mission to the capital as part of the daimyō's protection team. Also, because it allowed me to keep an eye on you. We still don't know if you are now a target from whoever is attacking Naruto."

Harumi stopped in the middle of the street, "Hatake Kakashi, are you saying that you left Naruto alone so that you could guard me?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Of course not." Harumi gave a sigh of relief. "I left Bull and Pakkun with Naruto, so I could watch your back."

"Oh you!" Harumi shrieked as she turned and hit Kakashi's arm, "It is the same thing!"

Kakashi's eye wrinkled in his version of a smile, "It really isn't, but you can pretend if you want."

Rolling her eyes, Harumi started walking again, "You left Naruto with your summons, all so that you could watch me. Does this mean you don't trust me to watch my own back?"

Kakashi followed Harumi, "Trust has nothing to do with it, Haru-chan and it is all about looking out for a teammate. Just like we do on missions, doing what I do best so that you can focus on what you do best."

"And what is it that I am doing best?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, "In this case, just enjoying the celebration with your friends. Katsu said that you don't go out often, so he did mention that you might want a worry-free night, away from people looking for something."

Harumi frowned, trying to figure out if she was going to be upset with the two men, or just let them be over protective together. Really, this was something to think about later, when she wasn't still feeling the effects of the plum wine and sake. "I am going to think about this later, when my head is not fuzzy."

Kakashi grinned, "Feeling the wine still?"

"I know my limits, I am not drunk or even tipsy, just a little fuzzy around the edges."

"So, is that a yes?"

Harumi sighed, "If I say yes will you drop it?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, I am still feeling the wine."

"So, I guess it is a good thing that I am walking you home."

Harumi exaggerated looking around them, "I may not be completely sober, but even I know that this is not the way to my home."

Kakashi grinned, "I just wanted to give you a little fresher air."

Harumi looped her arm through Kakashi's and gently leaned on him as he led them through the village. Harumi pat Kakashi's arm as he tensed up, "Yes, I am in your space. No, I am not flirting with you. If you insist on taking the long way home, then you must deal with the fact I'm tired, a little fuzzy around the edges and my feet hurt."

"So, you are leaning on me because your feet hurt?" Kakashi asked, doubting her reasoning completely. Women do not just hang on a man because their feet hurt. Kakashi had been a spy long enough to know that women hang on a man they had a romantic interest in, or if they needed the shield for something she is doing.

Harumi nodded, "And because you are leading me around the village. It is considered polite."

Kakashi frowned as he looked down at her, "It is also hindering me being able to reach my weapons on my leg."

Harumi let out a frustrated sigh before dropping her arm and straightening up, "Fine, I wouldn't want you to get hurt while you are walking me home. Now that you have ruined my buzz, where are we going?"

Kakashi looked down at Harumi and she was momentarily struck dumb by the small glint of mischievousness in his eye. In fact, she was convinced that if he didn't have his mask on, she would see a smirk.

"Should I be afraid when you have that look?" she asked nervously.

"What?" he asked.

"You have the same look in your eye that Naruto and Masahiro get when they just finished pulling off a prank, so I want to know if I should be afraid."

"Oh," Kakashi smiled, "I don't think so. I was just walking around in circles to see if you would notice or say something."

Harumi frowned, that didn't sound like Kakashi at all. In fact the idea of him testing her seemed. off. Taking some cool breaths to try and shake the fuzzy feeling off, Harumi continued to puzzle over this piece of a puzzle. Kakashi wouldn't just test her, however he would want to see if they were being followed, either by well meaning friends or by that person who Kakashi said could be targeting her. That must be it, so Harumi leaned closer to Kakashi, slipped her hand around his arm again and leaned close.

"I have a dozen poisoned senbons in my right hand, if you want them," Harumi leaned close to whisper against Kakashi's ear.

Kakashi's eye widened fractionally, but he stopped walking and pulled Harumi into the shadows of a building and pressed her against the wall, leaning in close as if to kiss her. His hand slid up under her shawl to her right hand where she handed him the senbons, then she slipped her left hand up his arm to thread her fingers through his hair as she arched her back as if to press his mouth closer to hers.

"I don't want to take away all of your weapons," Kakashi whispered against her lips.

"I am far from weaponless. Besides I am expecting you to be able to handle whatever your paranoia is telling you is going to happen, and I will patch you up."

"My paranoia, as you call it, has kept me alive for a long time."

"I don't doubt it, my tou-san was the same way. Kaa-san said it was leftover from his days in ANBU," here Harumi let out a breathy sigh, moving her head away from Kakashi's. Kakashi moved away and together they walked out of the shadows. Harumi holding Kakashi's arm and leaning on him, while Kakashi kept his hand under Harumi's shawl on her lower back. Kakashi and Harumi walked together back to Harumi's house where Kakashi walked in the house, up to Harumi's room then shunshined back to his house.

* * *

He was burning with rage.

How dare he! How dare he think to replace her! After all he did, he had the audacity to try and move forward as if they never existed.

He threw the table in his way against the wall.

No, NO, nonononono!

He stomped around the room, the other occupant pressing further into the corner to avoid attracting attention. The killing intent rolling off him would have been crippling to lesser shinobi.

This was not going to happen.

He would make him pay.

Yes, that was what he needed to do. His plans have been going along very smoothly, they could continue without him for a little while because he now had something else that required his attention.

Yes, a plan was forming, it would take some patience, but it could be done and when it was done, he would be able to say that he had finally won.

 **AN: Sorry for any grammer or spelling errors. I am currently in the process of moving, so I am uploading this from my phone.**

 **Happy All Things Scary Day! Or the day when everyone gets to wear a super hero costume and be socially accepted :) And that is why I am uploading this chapter early, and not because I couldn't wait to see your reaction ;)**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter. *Gasp* They kissed!**


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: Standard "I don't own Naruto or any of the Naruto characters, just my own OC's."**

Kakashi woke up the next morning to tapping on his window. Opening his eye Kakashi saw the white porcelain mask of Mouse. He leaned over to push the window open with one hand and grab his forehead protector with the other to cover his eye with. "What?"

"Your attendance is requested by Hokage-sama," the calm voice said, ignoring the irritated Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed, "I'll be right there," setting his feet on the floor, Kakashi stood up, pausing long enough to fix his green shuriken patterned blanket on his bed, and walked to the bathroom. He spent a few minutes taking care of stuff, before walking out with a towel around his waist. A glance at the window showed that Mouse was still there but looking away from the room. Kakashi shrugged and quickly put his clothes on, summoned Pakkun to deliver a message to Harumi and then he jumped out the window. Mouse already seeing Kakashi move, had jumped to the roof, where he could still see Kakashi, without getting hit for being in the way.

The two men jumped across the rooftops at ANBU speed, which translated into really, really fast. Before long they were right outside the tower. Mouse jumped to the ground and politely waited for Kakashi to join him. When he did, they walked into the tower and down to Saidamane's office. Mouse opened the door to the Hokage's office, bowed, then left, closing the door.

Kakashi looked around and saw Itachi, Tenzō, Jiraiya, and Hokage in the room.

Sarutobi nodded, "We are just waiting for one more, then we can begin." Kakashi shrugged and pulled out the book Harumi gave him last night, complete with henge and started to read. Sarutobi went back to his paperwork while Tenzō and Itachi stood and stared at the wall. Jiraiya, on the other hand, was busy trying to write his next book, he had met some, inspiration on his way to Konoha.

Finally, the door opened and Shikaku walked in after the door was closed, Hokage pushed some chakra into a seal on his desk and the whole room pulsed with chakra as the privacy seal was activated. "Now that we are all here, it is time to discuss some things that have come to my attention."

All the men, except Itachi and Tenzō straighter slightly at the Hokage's words.

"It has come to my attention that there is a man running around the Elemental Nations, recruiting an army of S-ranked nukenin and civilians. He sends a poison that we have only recently found an antidote too, but only a few can create it. After a village has had a number of deaths, mainly young children and old men, a man wearing an orange mask comes and talks about a new world that he is creating. A world with no death, no starving children and eternal happiness. He then invites them to come with him to his base so that they can make this new world. This base is in Amegakure."

Jiraiya nodded, "He has the ability to move through space instantaneously, he can also become intangible at will."

Hokage continued, "Some of you know that Uzumaki Naruto was attacked and left for dead. The person responsible for the attack is still unknown, however, we do know that this person has a Sharingan. We also know that this person has tried twice more to kill Naruto and has failed both times. The first because ANBU intercepted a man under a genjutsu who when captured was screaming that he had to kill the demon, and second because Shimizu Harumi took a poisoned kunai intended for Naruto. This person was followed to the Village Hidden in the Rain where our best hunter nin teams lost him."

Shikaku looked slightly shocked, while the rest of the occupants gave nothing away. Hokage nodded, "Jiraiya, do you have information on what is going on in Ame? I remember you spent considerable time there, is it possible that you still have contacts there?"

Jiraiya scratched his cheek while the thought, "I might have a couple of people still there."

"I need you to find out what is going on in Amegakure, there are too many links to that area for it to be a coincidence."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Jiraiya replied.

Shikaku frowned, "Why would a man preaching a new world, attack a child? Isn't that against what he is preaching?"

"Unless there is something about Naruto that doesn't work with his plan," Kakashi frowned.

"More questions then," Sarutobi mused. "Jiraiya, I need you to see if you have someone who has already joined this new movement, or someone who would be a good fit with the people who have already been recruited. We need to have more information because what we have right now tells us that this organization is a threat to Konohagakure."

"Yes, Sensei," Jiraiya said with a nod.

"Kakashi-kun, I need you to fill Haurmi-kun in with any information you feel is needed for her to protect Naruto better, I have a feeling Team Ro will be out in the field more."

"Hai Hokage-sama," came the reply from the one-eyed jonin.

"That is all for now, once Jiraiya has some news we will meet again." The five men saluted the Hokage before all walked out of the office.

Kakashi turned to Itachi and Tenzō, "I am calling a Team Ro meeting, we will meet in the usual place in thirty minutes. Itachi, make sure Shisui is there."

"Hai taichou," the two teens replied, taking off in different directions. Kakashi slowly made his way back to his home, back to a child that had people trying to kill him, a child that was part of someone's plan, a child that is his last connection to the man Kakashi viewed as a father.

 **AN: A short chapter, but there isn't an easy way to get this meeting needed to happen. But hey! We are getting the band back together :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Meanwhile**

Today was not Harumi's day. First, she passed out from her night out with the girls, only to have Kakashi and his paranoia kill her alcoholic buzz. She goes to sleep only to be woken up by a messenger from the hospital, another case of poisoning needed her attention. Glancing at the clock, Harumi found that she had only been asleep for two hours, which would explain the feeling of dirt in her eyes. But she didn't complain, she instead got dressed, splashed some water on her face and followed the messenger to the hospital.

Thankfully those on shift were able to stabilize and contain the poison, so Harumi just had to draw the poison out and place it into a beaker for someone else to analyze. A number of hours later, the sun had risen, and Harumi was slowly walking back to her house, nursing a cup of coffee one of the other medics had helpfully kept full for her. If it wasn't for the fact that Masahiro was at home, Harumi is convinced the shift lead would have made her stay, but thankfully, Harumi had to get her brother off to the academy. If Harumi felt bad for using her brother as an excuse to get a long shower and some food, well she wouldn't tell anyone.

However, her big plans for the morning were interrupted by a brown pug dog with a forehead protector and a vest.

Harumi blinked as the dog ran up to her and said, "Yo."

"Ohayou," Harumi replied.

"Kakashi asked me to let you know that he was called away to a meeting with the Hokage and he was wondering if you could wake Naruto-pup up and get him ready."

Harumi sighed and turned around to walk to Kakashi's house, "Of course. Are the security seals down, or do I need to shout up at Naruto until he wakes up?"

The dog gave a very good impression of a shrug as he walked next to her. "Want me to ask him?"

"No, if he is with Hokage-sama, then it is important, and he shouldn't be interrupted. I will figure it out when I get there." Harumi took a long drink of her lukewarm coffee and sighed again.

"Problems?" the dog asked.

"Not really, my coffee has gotten cold and I am almost empty."

"Oh. Do you want to touch my paws? They are very soft, and I don't let just anyone touch them. Naruto-pup needs to be good at school for a whole week."

Harumi smiled, "May I touch them after we figure out how I am going to get into Kakashi's house? Besides, I try not to touch the paws of dogs that I don't know their names. I am assuming you are one of Kakashi's ninkin and Naruto talks about the pack often, however, he isn't very good with descriptions, just names."

The dog ran up the two flights of stairs in front of Kakashi's house and turned around to face Harumi, who was still at the bottom of the last flight. Holding out his right paw he said, "I'm Pakkun, and you are Shimizu Harumi, the medic who Kakashi and Naruto-pup have been spending a lot of time with. You are also the medic that Kakashi left to watch over Naruto while he was tracking with us."

Harumi bent over and gently touched Pakkun's paw, "A pleasure to meet you Pakkun. Your paws are very soft."

Pakkun gave a dog smile and walked over to the door. He placed his paw on a seal near the bottom of the doorframe and a moment later, the door swung open. Harumi stared at him until he turned around and asked, "You are coming?"

Harumi took a deep breath to brace herself for any accidental problems regarding Kakashi's security, however, once she stepped through the doorway and nothing happened, she sighed.

Pakkun grinned again, "Kakashi made sure that all of his pack could open the doors if we needed too. Not that we use doors often, but when we do, it is because Kakashi has us running errands."

"So, you let me worry about getting inside the whole trip?"

"Hey, I didn't know if it would work with you here, Kakashi must have added your chakra to the 'okay to enter' list."

Harumi shook her head again and walked down the hall to where Naruto's room was. Pakkun walked over to his bed and laid down. Opening Naruto's door, Harumi walked over to the bed and gently shook Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, time to wake up!"

Naruto burrowed his head deeper into his pillow and shook his head.

Harumi laughed quietly and shook Naruto harder, "Time to get up brat. Kaka-nii-san got called away for a meeting and I am supposed to get you up. So, hurry up so I can go and make breakfast."

"I don't wanna get up!" came the muffled reply from the blond.

"If you hurry up, I might have time to grab some instant ramen you have here, and you can have that with or instead of porridge."

"Don't wanna!"

Harumi stood up, "Alright Naruto, you leave me no choice," grabbing Naruto's blankets, Harumi braced her feet and pulled the blankets and what the blankets were wrapped around, off the bed.

Naruto hit the ground with a loud thump and gave an outraged yell.

Harumi laughed and continued to unwrap Naruto from his blankets, "If you had just woken up when I asked you to the first time, or even the second time, this would not have happened." Once she could see the boy's blurry blue eyes, she tossed the blankets onto the bed and smiled, "Now that you are out of bed, hurry and get dressed. We need to head over to my house, so I can make sure Masa-kun is getting up."

"Can I wake him up if he isn't?"

"Of course, it is only fair after all," Harumi replied.

Naruto jumped up, now fully awake with the prospect of waking Masahiro up. Rushing over to the dresser, Naruto pulled out a pair of black pants and an orange and black shirt with a red swirl on the front. Harumi walked out of Naruto's room, making sure to close the door and down the hall to Kakashi's kitchen. Looking around, she found the pantry and grabbed a couple of the instant ramen cups that Naruto loved to eat. Glancing through Kakashi's fridge showed that he was out of milk and he could use some more vegetables in there.

"I'm ready!" Naruto called out from behind her.

Harumi grinned as she picked up the cups and started to walk towards the front door. "Make sure you have your homework and everything you need for school."

"Got it!"

"Then let's go. Do you know how to reset the security seals?" Harumi glanced at Pakkun.

"I will stay here until Kakashi can set them," Pakkun replied.

"Thank you Pakkun," Harumi nodded. "And thank you for letting me touch your paw, it really was very soft." Harumi grinned at the very pleased look on Pakkun's face as she maneuvered Naruto out the door. More awake, Harumi glanced down at Naruto before looking at the sun, she needed to rush if she was going to get everyone fed and lunches made. Kneeling down she looked at Naruto, "Hop up, we have to move fast."

Not needing a second invitation, Naruto jumped up on Harumi's back, she stood up, hooking her arms under Naruto's bent knees as Naruto wrapped his arms around her neck. "Hold these please," Harumi held the ramen cups in front of Naruto's hands after he grabbed them, she took a breath and launched herself onto the roof across from Kakashi's apartment. A few minutes later, Harumi dropped into her back garden and knelt down again, Naruto jumped off her back and the two of them went into her house.

Hideaki was awake and at the stove, heating up some rice and some water.

"I can take it from here, Hide-kun. Naruto can you go and see if Masahiro is awake yet?" Harumi asked as she quickly walked over to the cabinet that housed the coffee pot. Setting it up and quickly making a pot of coffee, Harumi walked to the fridge and pulled out the eggs, more rice and the leftover chicken from the other night. Distributing the rice and chicken into lunch boxes of her siblings and Naruto, Harumi walked back to the fridge and took the container of left-over fruit and some fresh vegetables back to the counter. Stirring the rice, Harumi added more water to give it a stickier consistency, before making a quick vegetable salad for everyone. Dividing the fruit and vegetables between the five bento boxes, Harumi very pointedly ignored the sounds of two boys fighting upstairs as she continued to pack everyone's lunch. Finally, the coffee was finished and she grabbed a cup and poured herself a cup. Adding a little sugar and milk, Harumi took a deep breath of the caffeinated goodness and smiled.

"Where is Maiko this morning?" Harumi asked.

Hideaki stood watching the stove, making sure the rice wouldn't burn. "She had an early patrol."

Harumi nodded. Once the rice was steaming hot, Harumi walked over and cracked eggs into the pot of rice while Hideaki whipped the egg into the rice. Harumi then took the hot water and poured some of it into the ramen cups, set them on the table and called Naruto and Masahiro to breakfast. Dishing the rice into bowls, she set the bowls on the table, refilled her coffee cup and everyone sat down.

Naruto let out an enthusiastic "Itadakimasu!" before eating his ramen with enthusiasm. Harumi smiled at his display and took another sip of coffee before picking up her chopsticks and eating.

"How did it go at the hospital?" Hideaki asked between bites.

"The patient will make a full recovery," Harumi replied.

"It is good that you were able to get to the hospital in time," Hideaki smiled, "It is good to have my nee-san being such a good medic, it means I get the good healing when I have to go to the hospital. No one wants to be on your bad side."

Harumi shook her head, "Everyone gets the same healing, it isn't like cuts of meat, Hide-kun."

"True, but you can just do a patch healing, a full heal, or a something between the two."

"That has nothing to do with the quality of your healing and everything to do with how badly you are injured and how tired the medic is."

Hideaki smiled, "Nice to see some color on your cheeks, nii-chan. You were looking ready to fall over."

Harumi stuck her tongue out at Hideaki and laughed, "I am running on no sleep, I am allowed to be a little pale."

Naruto, having finished both cups of ramen and his bowl of rice, drank some milk before asking, "Harumi-nee-chan, why didn't you get to sleep last night?"

"I was called to the hospital and I was on my way home when Pakkun found me and asked me to come by and pick you up." Harumi glanced at the clock and stood up, "Okay boys, you need to brush your teeth and we need to head out." Taking her bowl to the sink, Harumi rinsed it out before picking up Naruto's, Masahiro's and her own bento and walking them to the front door. She came back into the kitchen as Hideaki finished his rice and cleared the table.

Walking to the cabinet, Harumi grabbed a special cup, designed to keep her coffee warm and added coffee to it. Biting her thumb, Harumi pressed her bloody thumb onto a seal on the bottom of the cup, with a small push of chakra, the seal lit up, engulfing the cup with fire before it sunk into the cup. This cup was a gift for her mother from a fire user. Harumi's mother always laughed when she told the story, it had something to do with complaining about cold tea in the Land of Snow.

"Boys, we need to leave now!" Harumi called up the stairs, listening to the thundering footsteps of two boys running down the stairs, Harumi continued to the front door, slipped her shoes on and picked up her bento box. The boys put their sandals on and grabbed their bento boxes and the three walked out the door.

A glance at the roof showed that Kakashi was not following them, which meant his meeting was going far longer than she expected. Although Harumi admitted, she didn't know how long it took Pakkun to find her or how long he had waited for her at her house. Arriving at the Academy, Harumi gave each boy a hug and a reminder to behave. Watching them move into the building, she walked back to the hospital where she began her rounds.

 **AN: I have no idea how Kakashi's security would be set up, but I assume it would involve seals with the ability to let his pack in and out with ease. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you all for everyone who has commented. I read and cherish each one.**

 **Also, Happy Thanksgiving and Shopping madhouse to those in the US. Enjoy your turkey, (American) football, family, friends and of course the day after which is a shopping nightmare.**


	30. Chapter 30

Kakashi looked around at the faces of his teammates. Their masks either attacked to their belts or to the side of their heads. Kakashi stood next to the only window in the room and sighed. Itachi and Shisui were in a quiet discussion about a problem at the Police headquarters, Tenzō was busy playing with a small tree in the corner of the room while the only female of Team Ro was flipping a scroll in the air, catching it, only to flip it again.

Kakashi straightened up, "Okay guys, effective immediately, I am once again the captain of Team Ro. Hokage-sama has given orders for us to be ready for rapid deployment. There is a situation going on in the Village Hidden in the Rain that may need our attention. So, everyone is ready to move in less than ten minutes once we get the word. Put in notice with your families or whatever you need to do. Make sure you have everything you will need for a long mission, also everything you will need for a long-term infiltration mission. I am not sure what we will be needed to do, so we need to be ready for anything."

"Kakashi-taichou? Can you give us anything more information?" Yūgao asked.

"I can tell you that there is a man who is amassing an army of everything from poor and desperate civilians to S-ranked nukenin. I can tell you that someone from Ame has been targeting a Konoha citizen and trying to eliminate said citizen. I can tell you that the masked man may or may not be the one trying to eliminate said citizen. I can also tell you that Ame is in the center of this whole problem."

"So, in other words, we have a lot of guesses but nothing concrete?" Yūgao replied.

"Yes, however the fact that Hokage wants us to be ready to move no matter what information he receives should be enough to tell you that this is important," Kakashi answered.

"Hai taichou," came the reply.

"Go and get yourselves prepared, I will notify you once we have our mission." Yūgao and Tenzō left quickly while Shisui and Itachi were left arguing over something.

Kakashi stood there and waited for them to finish their conversation. When Shisui threw his hands in the air and turned away, Kakashi figured the argument was over.

Itachi came closer to Kakashi, "Taichou, there is something you should know."

Kakashi turned his gaze to the serious teen in front of him, "Yes Itachi?"

"There is a man claiming to be Uchiha Madara who has been talking to the clan elders and he recently started to talk to Shisui."

Kakashi nodded, wondering where this was heading.

Itachi continued, his voice very calm, "He has been encouraging the Uchiha revolt, with the Uchiha convinced they are being pushed aside due to prejudice he doesn't have to try very hard."

Kakashi nodded again, Itachi had already shared this much with him already.

"Madara came to a clan meeting last night," Itachi took a breath, "He was wearing an orange mask."

Kakashi froze as another piece of the puzzle fell into place, "Everything keeps coming back to Amegakure, doesn't it."

"Taichou?" Itachi asked.

"Don't worry about it Itachi. After Jiraiya comes back with some more information we will know what to do with that information. But for now, you and Shisui are to continue to do your best to prevent the coup from happening."

"Hai taichou," Itachi replied.

"Hai sempai," Shisui replied, walking over to Itachi and grinning before jumping out the window with Itachi right behind him.

Kakashi sighed, he was packed, he finished packing everything he would need before he even came to the meeting, all because he knew he would need to have a long conversation with Harumi. Jumping onto the window sill, he noted the sun's position before jumping in the direction of the hospital. It didn't take long for him to walk through the front doors of the hospital, it took a considerable time for him to find Harumi. The first nurse sent him to another floor where Harumi was seeing a patient. Turns out that was where she spent her night and the medic stationed outside the door informed Kakashi that Harumi was doing rounds two floors above them.

After wandering around what felt like the whole hospital, Kakashi finally found out that Harumi had an office. Finding a medic or nurse willing to show him where it was, was a different story. For some reason, no one wanted to show him the way. He couldn't track her by scent, it was all over the hospital, he thought about tracking her chakra, but again, it was all over the hospital. Finally, he saw one of the nurses from the bar the other night. Thankfully, she gave him directions with the advice to grab her a cup of coffee because Harumi had been there all-night healing that person in the room Kakashi was sent to first. Taking her advice to heart, Kakashi grabbed a cup of coffee from the break room the nurse had left, picked up a couple of sugars and a small cup of milk, then walked down the stairs to Harumi's office.

Harumi's office was in one of the below-ground levels of the hospital. This was where ANBU were treated and were considered the most secure places in the hospital, but not to the depth of where Naruto was treated when Kakashi first saw him. It looked like there were lots of laboratory rooms, and lots of people with the dark Nara hair walking around with clipboards and beakers of stuff. Kakashi slowly made his way to the door that had Harumi's name on it, gave it a knock and was surprised when the door opened under the pressure of his knock. A glance in showed Harumi bent over a piece of paper with more paper stacked neatly around her desk.

"Come in," she replied not even looking up from what she was doing.

"Yo!" Kakashi said, sitting in the only other chair in her office. Harumi looked up and Kakashi gave her a small eye smile while holding up the cup of coffee, some packets of sugar, and the small plastic tubs of milk, to go in it, "I brought a gift," he said.

Harumi smiled and held her hand out to take the coffee, "Arigato, Kakashi. I really need this."

"Long morning?"

"I wish, long day, night and morning." Taking a long drink of her coffee, Harumi set the cup down and continued writing, "What brings you here to the dungeon, Kakashi?"

"A dungeon, huh? I have to say, I have seen worse ones in my life. Much better scenery, although," he continued thoughtfully as a nurse walked past with a tray full of vials of blood, "the amount of blood is about the same."

Harumi glanced up at him in surprise and laughed as she saw the humorous glint in his eye. "Well I guess so long as the amount of blood and the body count was the same, it counts."

Kakashi nodded. Harumi watched Kakashi for a minute, noting that while for a minute his eye was expressive, it returned to the previous state of flat. "Is something wrong? Did Pakkun not set the security back in place after I left? Was I not supposed to get into your house? Did Pakkun destroy the couch after I left?"

Kakashi blinked, "Nothing is wrong. The security of my house if just fine. Yes, I wanted you to be able to get into the house, that is why I asked Pakkun to ask you to get Naruto and no, Pakkun did not destroy the couch after you left."

"Then what is wrong? You have an unusual look in your eye right now."

Kakashi blinked again, "What kind of look?"

"The kind my tou-san used to get when he would tell us he would miss our birthday celebrations because he was on a mission."

Kakashi frowned, "I don't think I am going to miss your birthday, when is it anyway?"

"October 2."

"I have six months then," Kakashi replied, "So I don't think I will miss your birthday celebration."

Harumi sighed, "Kakashi, what is it you want to tell me?"

"I may have to leave on short notice, and I don't know when or for how long." Kakashi glanced around and asked before continuing, "What I need to say should be private."

Harumi nodded and stood up, grabbing a piece of paper from a folder on a bookshelf, she pressed the paper against the door, added chakra and activated the seal. She then closed the door and activated another seal next to the door. Glancing at Kakashi she explained, "The seal of the front of the door both lets people know that this office is currently under a privacy seal, not to disturb me and it also activates a privacy ward around the door, so no one can hear what we are saying. This seal," she motioned towards the one next to the door, "lets the nursing stations on other floors know that I am not to be disturbed unless it is an emergency."

"Well that is pretty handy," Kakashi replied. "I wonder if the Hokage has something like that?"

"No idea, but I do know that Shikaku-oji has something similar in his office." Harumi sat back down at her desk, moved the paper over into another pile and leaned back in her chair, the coffee in her hand, "So what is it you have to tell me?"

"So new information about the attack on Naruto has come to light and I may need to go and investigate. Hokage-sama is hoping that Jiraiya-sama can get the information we need, or at least something we can use, but if not, then I may need to go. The situation is unknown at the moment, but I would be grateful if I need to leave, if you would watch Naruto for me. I can have a bag set up for him and bring it by your place, so Naruto can have his clothes and other things he will need while I am gone." "I can do that. A bag would be helpful. Do you know how long you would be gone?"

"I don't know, I don't even know what the mission would be. It all depends on what information Jiraiya can find. I just wanted to make sure that Naruto had someplace to be and to let you know of the possibility that I may be gone for a long while," Kakashi replied.

Harumi nodded, "Will you have time to let me know you are leaving? Or how would you let me know that I needed to take care of Naruto?"

"If I need to leave, Hokage or someone from ANBU would come to let you know. As with last time, Naruto would have an ANBU guard while I am gone, but they won't interfere."

"Okay, I can work with that. However, you need to let Naruto know of this possibility, so he isn't confused by the change of plans. Or that he would worry if you were gone for a long time. I understand that you will not be able to tell many specifics, but it will be good for Naruto to know that you could be leaving and that you are doing it for a mission."

Kakashi nodded, "I can do that. I was planning on doing something like that anyway."

Harumi glanced at the door and saw a seal appear under the notification seal near the door. "Is there anything else?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Nothing classified."

"Good," Harumi stood back up, sent more chakra into the two seals and opened her door revealing two medics in full uniform. "What can I do for you?"

The tallest medic smiled, "We are heading to the Nara research facility now and was wondering if you needed anything from there."

Kakashi watched as Harumi smile lit up her whole face, "In fact, I do have a list," she walked over to get a piece of paper from her desk and then handing it to the two medics.

The tall medic glanced at the paper and asked, "Working on a new antidote?"

"Not really, just trying to figure out a way to get one more stable for transportation."

"Do you need more help?"

"I don't think so, half of the floor is currently working on a solution, and this is a shortlist of stuff they need and since most can only be found in the Nara research building…" Harumi's voice trailed off as the two medics nodded.

"We will do our best," the second medic replied before they turned and walked away.

Harumi turned back to Kakashi, "Were you and Naruto planning on staying for dinner?"

"Maa, maa, I was actually thinking of taking you all out for dinner. You have made us dinner for the past week, it seems like the right thing to do would be to give you dinner. Since my cooking leaves much to desire, I figured taking you to that new barbecue place would be appropriate."

Harumi laughed, "If you want to treat all of us for dinner, I am not going to say no. But be warned, Hideaki can and does eat as much as Naruto does."

Kakashi shrugged, "So long as it is less than what a small army can eat in a day, then I will be fine."

"Okay then, I will let Hideaki and Maiko know what is going on, did you want to leave from my house?"

"Sure."

"Great, then I will see you after the boys get out of the academy." Kakashi nodded, pulled his book out of his pocket and made his way out of the hospital. Before he even got two blocks away from the hospital Kakashi shuddered and groaned. Saying a quick prayer to any god listening to just let him get home unseen was sadly not heard.

"Dynamic entry!" Landing in front of Kakashi was a man dressed in a green suit with orange legwarmers, dark hair cut into the shape of a bowl and bushy eyebrows. Standing in his "standard greeting" good guy pose, the man continued, "Hello my Eternal Rival! I believe we are now tied fifty-one to fifty-one and it is your turn to pick our challenge."

"Oh, hello Gai," Kakashi said as if surprised by Gai's presents. "Were you talking to me?"

"I wish I was as hip as my Rival Kakashi. I said it is time again for our challenge. We are tied and this time I will beat you, or I will walk around Konoha one hundred times on my hands!"

Kakashi looked at Gai from over his book, "Rock, paper, scissors."

"You always choose that one!" Gai cried.

"Then you should have no problem beating me," Kakashi reasoned.

"You are correct once again, My Rival! Very well, a most Youthful game of Rock, Paper, scissors we will play!"

Kakashi put his book back in his pocket and took up a position across from Gai.

It took twenty tires, but Kakashi won and Gai left on his self-imposed punishment for losing. Kakashi took his book out, gave a sigh of relief and started to walk through the village again. He had a little bit of time before he needed to do anything, maybe he should go and get some more weapons, he might need some more depending on what he would be doing. No, he had plenty of weapons. He could go get some clothes or supplies for Naruto, he said something about needing more paper and ink, also wanting some senbon to practice with Masahiro. Kakashi could do that later, he decided. Since he was pulled straight from his bed into a meeting with the Hokage, Kakashi didn't have time to go to the memorial stone.

Turning, Kakashi quickly took to the roofs to avoid people. It only took a few minutes before Kakashi left the populated areas and had to make the transition from rooftops to treetops. A few minutes later, Kakashi landed just outside the clearing with the memorial stone he frequented. He could have landed in the clearing, but that seemed disrespectful somehow. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Kakashi slowly walked up to the stone, his grief and guilt settled over his shoulders like a comfortable coat.

"Hi, Obito, Rin, Sensei," Kakashi began like he always did. "Sorry I'm late, Hokage pulled me out of bed this morning. Something is happening in the Village Hidden in the Rain, I don't know what it is, but hopefully, something will happen, so we know." Kakashi fell silent for a few moments, just thinking of what he should say. "You will be happy to know Sensei if I get called away on a mission, Haru-chan has promised to take care of Naru-chan." Kakashi grinned at the rhyme. "Naruto loves going to Masahiro's house, Harumi will treat Naruto just like another little brother and they will all get along well. I am thinking of asking Jiraiya if he could make more secure seals for her house so that she is covered while I am gone, but I don't know if she will think that is overstepping my bounds." Kakashi laughed softly, "Shikaku keeps having to remind me that Harumi is a Nara woman, which means she is full of fire and is not shy about spewing it on you. So, I need to think long and hard to see if offering to have Jiraiya upgrade her security seals would be seen as saying she can't protect her family or if she would see it as I'm worried about protecting Naruto.

"Rin, I know you would tell me just to talk to her, after all, she insists that we talk. I swear I have not talked so much in my entire life as when Harumi wants to talk about a book. Did I tell you she started to read the Icha Icha books? And she offered some books to me in trade? I guess I could just ask her tonight at dinner."

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, you heard right, Obito, I am taking Harumi and her family, and Naturo out for dinner. I decided it was the only polite thing to do since she is always cooking dinner for me and Naruto. Sensei, you would approve, she gets Naruto to eat his vegetables without fighting. He still asks for ramen all of the time, but he eats almost everything she makes him. Although he has made it a point to repeatedly say that he doesn't like broccoli."

Kakashi stared down at the stone, watching how the sunlight danced across the shiny surface. "I hope I am doing the right thing with Naruto, Sensei. I follow what the book says I'm supposed to do. Sarutobi, Shikaku, and Harumi offer advice, which I try to follow. But I am very aware that I am probably failing. All I can say is that I am doing my best and I hope that it is good enough. Which according to the latest parenting book I read, 'is the best any parent could hope for'." Kakashi sighed, "However we all know that I am the least qualified person to be parenting anyone, much less Naruto. He has gained some weight, he no longer looks like he is starving. He is growing again. I will have to go out clothes shopping with him soon, or just leave money with Harumi to go and get him stuff." Kakashi scratched the back of his neck, "Maybe that would be the easiest, just have Harumi pick out clothes for Naruto when she goes shopping for Masahiro. She was complaining the other day that Masahiro's pants were all getting too short." From the village, Kakashi could hear the sharp ring of the bell at the academy. A quick glance at the sun showed that more time had passed than Kakashi had thought. Taking one step back, Kakashi bent his head for a moment before turning around and taking off towards the Academy to pick up Naruto.

"Going to dinner with the family, hmm, Kakashi?" the man whispered, his deep voice carrying through the empty clearing. "I wonder what your new family looks like. The one you went and replaced us with. Maybe I should go too."

"You might get caught," the one in the shadows replied.

"I will just have to be careful. No one ever looks at me if I don't want them too."

"Remember the plan, Madara."

"I am not likely to forget with you constantly reminding me!" came the rough reply.

"I apologize, Madara. What would you like me to do while you are watching Kakashi?"

"Make sure Pein is doing what we talked about. Since I am here, I might as well pop in to see if our rat has any useful information for me to work with."

"Very good, Madara. I will do as you request. Should I leave a clone here in case you need it?"

"I will be fine!"

"As you say," the shadow slowly melted away into nothing leaving only the masked man staring at the shiny stone at the edge of the clearing.

 **AN: And another chapter complete! Thank you to everyone who has followed and/or commented on this story, it is a great feeling to know that others appreciate the ideas running through my head. Please continue to let me know what you think about this story as it progresses. I will give you a heads up, we will be doing more time skips, no more than a few months, but it is important to the story to keep moving forward, and nothing drags a plot down faster than "And nothing happened today" or "The same stuff happened again for the seventh day in a row."**

 **Also, we passed 100,000 words and 200 followers, what should I do to celebrate? An omake? A chapter from Itachi's or someone else's perspective? Let me know and if there is enough interest, I might do more than one.**

 **Thank you all again. Until next time :)**


	31. Christmas Omake

**AN: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to those who celebrate. I am not sure where this came from, but I was able to get it done in a short amount of time. I hope you all enjoy this little omake from Naruto's point of view.**

Naruto had never seen so many lights on a tree before. He had seen houses decorated, even the stores had some decorations, but he had never seen a real Christmas tree before. The shopkeepers kept him away from any display they had. Well, at least they used to before Haru-nee and Kaka-nii started taking care of him. There were lights and other decorations on the tree. Masahiro's brother and sister were helping Masahiro to place ornaments on the tree.

Naruto watched in awe as the three siblings placed small balls onto the tree.

"Haru-nee!" Masahiro yelled, "You need to put your hand the tree too!"

"Hold on Masa-chan! I am almost done with the hot chocolate!" A voice called from the back of the house. The voice was getting louder as she continued, "Besides, I thought that you wanted to wait for Naruto to get here before you started decorating the tree?"

Naruto smiled as Harumi walked into the living room with a large tray. This was the same tray she used when she was serving tea when they would practice in the back yard and she and Kaka-nii were sitting on the porch talking about books. But instead of a teapot with a few cups, there were six large mugs, a bowl of little marshmallows, a cup of small candy canes and a can of whipped cream.

"Naruto!" Harumi grinned, "How long have you been here?" Haru-nee was Naruto's favorite adult, right after the old man and Kaka-nii. Haru-nee was always happy to see him and always had something nice to say to him. She also read stories, helped him with his homework and didn't make fun of his love of ramen. As far as he was concerned, Haru-nee was the best person in the world.

"Not that long," Naruto shrugged.

"Well get on over here, grab a cup of hot chocolate and help those three decorate the tree!" Harumi laughed.

Naruto ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing as hard as he could. Naruto could feel her warmth spread through him as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and ran her fingers through his hair. Giving her one last squeeze, Naruto walked quickly over to where Masahiro was waiting near a long box.

"It is my fault we started early," Hideaki said, "I have patrol this afternoon and I wanted to put my ornaments on before I had to go."

"And it is a tradition that we all put our hands on the tree at the same time!" Masahiro said.

"Okay then," Harumi took a mug off the tray, added some marshmallows and hooked a candy cane on the top of the mug and walked over to the box.

Naruto's mouth dropped as he looked at all the glass balls in the box. There were clear balls, colored balls, some with decorations, others with something written on them, there were glass candy canes. At one end was a whole row of glass deer, each a different size or style.

"Here Naruto."

Naruto was shaken from his awe by a clear glass ball in front of his face.

"What?" Naruto started.

"This is for your handprint," Masahiro answered. Pointing at the tree, "Every member of the family has their handprint put on the tree so that even when you are not here for Christmas, you are kind of here. So this one is yours, all we need to do is put your handprint on it."

"How do I do that?"

"Well Haru-nee said something about paint," Masahiro said.

"Yes, I have some paint in the kitchen and we can put Naruto's handprint on the ornament and then once it is dried, we can quickly hang it up with the rest of them," Harumi waved her hand at the tree.

Putting her ornament on the tree, Harumi waved a hand, "Come on Naruto, time to finish your ornament so we can put it on the tree before Hideo needs to leave."

Naruto followed Harumi to the kitchen where she had red, white, orange, black and green paints sitting on the table. There was some paper covering the table and a small stack of paper plates near the paints.

"Okay Naruto, pick the paint color you want to use," Harumi told him as she moved to the paints.

"Orange," Naruto yelled.

"Of course," Harumi laughed. She quickly opened the orange paint and poured some onto a plate. "Now I need you to put your hand in the paint, make sure it covers your whole palm, then we will put it on the glass ornament."

Naruto shoved his hand into the pile of paint and lifted his hand up. Harumi was holding the glass ornament and Naruto grabbed the ornament with his hand.

"Wonderful, now gently lift your hand, trying to not wiggle it too much," Harumi instructed.

Naruto lifted his fingers first, then his palm. He smiled when he saw his orange hand on the clear glass orb.

"Looks great! Now we just need to let it dry." Harumi placed the wet globe on a clean paper plate. "While we wait, go and help the others decorate the house. They should still be working on the tree, but soon they will move onto the rest of the house."

Naruto grinned and ran back to his friends.

A while later, after the tree was covered with glass, plastic, and deer. The living room had all sorts of decorations, covering every flat surface. In the corner on a metal stand hung six stockings, each decorated with a highly stylized symbol of the Hidden Leaf. Four of the stockings had a circle with three slightly wavy lines that Naruto had seen often at the Nara compound. But what had Naruto walking closer to the stockings were the other two stockings, one had a diamond that was cut into nine smaller diamonds. The final stocking had a circle with a spiral in the middle, a symbol that Naruto saw on the back of every Hidden Leaf vest.

"Haru-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Yes?"

"What is that?"

Harumi walked over to the stockings, "These are our stockings for Christmas. The ones with the Nara symbol on them are mine, Hideaki and Maiko. The one with the diamond is Kakashi's and the spiral is yours."

"But why does it have those symbols on them?" Naruto whined.

"Well, they are all the symbols of our clan. It makes it easy for us to know which stocking is whose."

"Okay."

"Come on, your ornament should be dry and I am pretty sure that Masahiro is about to burst with waiting." Harumi put her hand on Naruto's shoulder and gently guided him back to the kitchen. Grabbing the now dry ornament that she tied a green ribbon into a loop. "Here you go."

Naruto slowly brought the new ornament to the tree. He studied the tree, looking for a place to put it.

"Here, Naru-chan, right next to mine!" Masahiro pointed.

Naruto followed his friend's finger and saw, a single branch without any type of decoration.

"I saved that spot just for you because you are my best friend," Masahiro continued, his little voice very serious.

"No he isn't," Hideaki called out from across the room where he was doing something with a glass bowl.

Naruto wanted to sink into the ground, he was so excited when Masahiro called him his best friend. But Hideaki would know if that was true or not. But Naruto didn't want to believe that Masahiro would lie.

"Hey! He is too!" Masahiro shouted.

"No," Hideo insisted, "He is your little brother. Which is better than a best friend."

Naruto felt his eyes well up with tears, his chest felt tight and he swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. He looked at the tree in front of him, all the lights twinkling, the glass ornaments reflecting the light. He looked up and saw his handprint, in line with the others. All the handprints were different sizes and different colors and there on the end was his orange hand. He remembered what Masahiro said when Naruto came in, that every member of the family had a handprint.

"Okay," Masahiro agreed, "I guess having a little brother is better than a best friend."

Harumi laughed, "Naruto can be both, Masahiro," leaning over she grabbed Naruto and Masahiro and gave them both a hug, "being a brother and a best friend is the best combination in the whole world!"

Naruto glanced up at the tree, then over to the stockings. He nodded his head. Having a best friend is good, but having a family to spend Christmas with was the best thing ever. Maybe even better than ramen.

Maybe.


	32. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I only claim my own OCs.**

"I don't want to go shopping!" Masahiro whined.

"I didn't ask your opinion, did I, Masahiro?" Harumi asked, her tone sharper than she had intended it to be.

"But why do we have to go now?"

"Because we are here and you need a new coat, it is going to get colder and the rains will start soon, so you need to be prepared. You have outgrown your coat from last year." Masahiro drug his feet as he walked behind the fast-moving Harumi, the only reason they were able to talk was that she would stop walking every five minutes or so and wait for him. "The longer it takes for us to get to the store, the less time you will have to train, because you still have to finish your homework and Kakashi-san is taking us out for dinner, so you do not have all night."

"Kakashi-san is taking everyone to dinner?"

"Did you miss that when we picked you boys up?"

"I stopped listening when you said shopping," Masahiro admitted.

"Well then the parts you missed were Kakashi-san is taking us out for dinner, we are meeting over at our house in a couple of hours, Hideaki and Maiko will meet us there and once Kakashi-san and Naruto-kun arrive we will leave."

"Cool!" Masahiro cried as he moved faster, catching up to Harumi as they walked to the shop.

"Hello!" Came the cry from the woman behind the counter. "What are you looking for?"

"A new winter coat for my brother," Harumi replied.

"Are you looking for something warm, waterproof or a combination of the two?"

"I was thinking warmer than waterproof. Rain can be dealt with through umbrellas, so warmth is our priority." Harumi answered.

"Very good, we have a new selection of warm coats over on this wall," the woman waved her hand to her left, "Feel free to ask any questions you may have."

"Thank you, we will." Walking over to the wall indicated, Harumi and Masahiro quickly looked through the selection. "Is there a color you are looking for, Masahiro?"

"Black or green," came his reply.

"Are you sure you don't want to follow in Naruto's footsteps and wear orange?" Harumi teased, holding out a jacket that was bright orange with a red swirl on the back.

Masahiro shuddered, "No nee-chan, I will leave the eye-catching colors to Naruto and I will keep to the darker colors of the Nara clan."

Harumi smiled, "Can you try it on anyway? I want to see if this would fit Naruto, that way I can tell Kakashi-san where to pick it up if Naruto needs a new coat." Masahiro grumbled but tried on the coat, Harumi nodded as it was a little big on him but should fit Naruto just fine. Then she pulled out a hooded jacket that was dark green, (somewhere between forest green and hunter green) with black sleeves and hood. It zipped up the front and had deep pockets for cold hands, or to hide kunai in if needed.

"What do you think of this one?" she asked.

"I like it!" Masahiro cried out, throwing the orange jacket on the ground before snatching the coat out of her hands and throwing it on. He zipped it up and started to move his arms.

The woman at the counter nodded, "It has a re-enforced collar and armor can be added in the arms if you desire."

Masahiro perked up, "Like nee-san's jacket? Like a real shinobi jacket?"

Harumi grinned and nodded, "Yes, otouto, like a real shinobi jacket."

"Can I, please?"

"How about just leaving it as is with the re-enforced collar and if you end up needing armor in the sleeves, we can bring it back and have it added, or if you like the jacket, we can just continue to have it made," Harumi offered.

"Okay," Masahiro agreed.

Taking Masahiro's new jacket and the bright orange jacket to the counter, Harumi asked, "The orange one, does it also come with a re-enforced collar and sleeved armor?"

The woman shook her head, "No, but those are easy to add."

"Good, then could you please add the cost of the new collar to my total? I would like both of these. How long would it take for you to add the collar?"

"I can have the collar done tomorrow."

"Wonderful."

The two women quickly finished their transaction, Harumi and Masahiro quickly left the store with a promise to pick up the new jacket tomorrow.

"How come you bought that jacket? I thought you were just going to let Kakashi-san know about it?" Masahiro asked.

"I did too, but I figured this way, both you and Naruto can have new shinobi jackets and Kakashi-san could just pay me back if he wants, if not then the jacket will be an early birthday gift for Naruto."

Masahiro nodded, "Maybe we should have gotten Sasuke and Shikamaru new jackets too."

Harumi laughed and ruffled Masahiro's hair, "I don't have unlimited funds, but if you want, we can ask Yoshino-oba and Itachi-san if the boys could use a new jacket and point them to that shop."

"Why Itachi-san and not Sasuke's mom?"

Harumi smiled, "That would be because I don't normally see Sasuke's mom, but if I did, I would ask her."

Masahiro nodded, "It would have to be blue with the Uchiha fan on the back."

"I am sure they could make something like that."

"Sasuke only wears blue, white, black and tan." Masahiro continued sagely.

"I have noticed that most Uchiha's wear subdued colors."

"Naruto wears orange." Harumi laughed, "Yes he does."

"I like green and black."

"True," Harumi was starting to question where this was going.

"You like purple. Maiko wears black and Hideaki likes brown and green."

"Yes, Masahiro, what are you getting at?"

"I was just thinking that we all have favorite colors to wear and they are different but still similar."

Harumi nodded, "How are orange and brown similar?"

"I saw some orange flowers with a brown middle the other day, so all of the colors we wear can be found in the forests," Masahiro said with authority.

"Okay, I am with you, so why are you talking about colors?"

"Just saying that we all like different colors, but we all go together."

Harumi frowned as she tried to figure out what her brother was saying, wondering if this was a coded message of some sort.

"At the academy, we were talking about different ways to remember people, one of them is by the colors they wear. Then one of the girls started talking about how certain colors go together and something," Masahiro rolled his eyes, "it was silly, nee-chan, we all wear different colors, but we still get along and we look fine together."

Harumi grinned, by this time they had reached their house, so she opened the door and the two walked in the house, "I think the girl in question was talking about something they learn in kunoichi classes. We had to learn about things called complementary colors, it is something that kunoichi learn for their undercover work. Soon they will be learning about flowers and all their meanings."

"Why do girls have to learn all that stuff?"

"To better pass ourselves off as civilians or nobility or any other position, kunoichi need to learn several skills. Skills that most women of different ranks are learning."

"So, girls have to learn more than I do?"

"Well, not necessarily more, just different things. Soon enough, if my memory is correct, the boys will be learning things that the girls can't learn so it will even out in the end."

Masahiro gave Harumi a disgruntled look, "But what if I don't want to learn more stuff?"

"Then you don't get to be a shinobi, ototo. Learning is something that you will continue to do even after you graduate the Academy after you are placed on a genin team, well and forever. It is just a part of what we do."

Masahiro groaned, "As Shika would say, how troublesome."

Harumi laughed, "Put your new jacket away and then sit down and finish your homework. You don't have that much time if you still want to train." Shaking her head as the young man ran upstairs to put his jacket into his wardrobe. Going through her afternoon routine was helpful, it allowed Harumi to go through her constant lists of things to do, check off the things she had done and added new things that she happened to think of. Currently on her list was making sure she had everything ready for it, and when Naruto would stay with them. This led to the thought that maybe she should invest in a bunk bed for Masahiro's room, or possibly just another bed, something to be more permanent than a cot in the corner. Maybe she should also look into getting another dresser for Masahiro's room, or at least make sure that there was an empty drawer and empty hangers for Naruto's stuff in Masahiro's current wardrobe.

Masahiro came back and sat down with a plate of cookies in front of him along with his homework for the night. Thankfully it was something simple today, just a review of something, Harumi was not going to look over his shoulder and tell him how to do it, Masahiro needed to figure this out on his own.

Moving around the table, Harumi walked into the laundry room threw some clothes and soap into the washing machine and started it. She then folded the clean clothes and set them in different piles to be taken to different rooms.

"I'm home!" Maiko called from the front door, "I'm going to take a quick shower and I'll be ready to go whenever."

"Come grab your clothes and take them upstairs!" Harumi called out, grabbing a pile of clothes and holding it out towards the laundry door.

Maiko grabbed her clothes and ran upstairs. Harumi just sighed, younger siblings were such a pain. Finished with her task, Harumi went to get a cup of tea and read her book for a little while.

Time passes Harumi was sitting outside in the back garden watching Masahiro continue to try and master the kunai through the middle of the shuriken trick. Thankfully this was something that wouldn't result in injury unless Masahiro did something horribly wrong, so she was able to continue to read her book and just glance at her brother from time to time. Not that she even needed to be out here, but she couldn't shake Kakashi's words that she might be a target now from her mind and she was not going to let her little brother pay the price for being sloppy.

Maiko and Hideaki were either taking showers or just relaxing from today, Harumi was grateful that her family was home together today. With the weather getting colder, missions would start to slow, meaning more 'in house' missions will happen and most of their training. It also means that the hospital will be filled with more ninjutsu related injuries, chakra exhaustion, and stupid bet or prank injuries.

This was also the time when Harumi could focus on researching or creating a new poison or antidote. Or maybe look at a disease to research. The Nara research team was always looking into something and always had ideas for Harumi to work with if she ran out of ideas. Although with the rise of poison usage, it would be helpful to be more proactive in creating antidotes or more lethal poisons.

So many options, too many. But she would use this time to focus on some training, maybe work at getting better at the Nara secret techniques. Or just work on her taijutsu or something. There was too much that she could do. But for now, Harumi focused on reading her book and helping her brother with anything that he needed. Also, to continue to work on the problems that having Naruto in her life brought about, mainly problems centered around a man trying to kill Naruto.

Skillfully ignoring the fact that thinking about Naruto brought Kakashi to mind. Last night was all about Kakashi's paranoia, however, she would be lying to herself if some small, tiny, minuscule part of her wasn't a little disappointed that Kakashi wasn't interested in her that way. Hey, what woman in her right mind wouldn't want to be considered attractive by a man? Especially a man that has proven to be smart, dedicated to his mission and those around him whom he considers teammates, and to Naruto. A man that has gone out of his way to ensure she was doing okay after her release from the hospital by taking care of her brother and Naruto. Making sure she ate enough.

Especially when said man was long considered to be a cold-hearted bastard. Harumi shook her head, no point in going down that path of thought. SHE was not looking for anyone, Kakashi could be a good friend like Katsu and Tamotsu are. He was even acting like her teammates, being all big brother protective of her. That was all it was, a friendly concern.

Shaken from her thoughts by a knock on the door, the sound of Maiko running down the stairs to answer it. Harumi marked her place in the book and walked into the house, Masahiro on her heels because they both heard the boisterous greeting of Naruto.

"Hello, Maiko-chan! Kaka-nii is taking us out for barbecue, which isn't ramen but still good. Did you know that ramen is the best food in the whole world?"

Maiko shook her head, "Ramen is a food that I like on occasion. If I had a choice I would eat dango all the time."

Naruto stuck his tongue out, "Dango is good, but RAMEN is the best!" Noticing Masahiro standing next to Harumi, he continued, "Right Masa-kun?"

Masahiro shook his head, "Ramen is good, but salted salmon is my favorite."

Harumi shook her head as she walked over to hug Naruto, "Ramen is good, but you should eat more than just one food. A shinobi diet should consist of varied foods to ensure that you get the proper balance of carbohydrates, fats, protein, vegetables, vitamins, and minerals." To quickly move them onto a different topic before Naruto dug his heels in and started a fight, "I heard the girls in class were talking about color coordination today."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Why does that even matter?"

Maiko and Harumi laughed and Kakashi was entranced by the musical sound of it.

"A shinobi must be able to blend into any setting that he or she is thrown into. For you and Masahiro, you will learn valuable skills that will allow you to blend in, like carpentry or something strange like fishing. Kunoichi must learn the more feminine arts, like flower arrangements and how to coordinate a kimono and obi."

"Man, that seems lame, why can't you just learn to fight?" Naruto asked.

"Because sometimes your mission isn't to fight, but to gather information. You can't just bash heads in to find the information, so you must do something subtler," Harumi answered. Then she turned to Kakashi, "I just need to get Hideaki and we are ready whenever you are."

Kakashi nodded, "No reason to hurry, I made a reservation for one hour from now. I wasn't sure when Hideaki and Maiko would be back."

Harumi grinned, "Then there is plenty of time for us to talk about that book and the boys can go and continue to practice that trick you taught them. Unless Naruto has mastered it already?" she added as if thinking out loud.

"Not yet!" Naruto replied, "But I will soon, believe it!"

Harumi ruffled his hair and gently pushed both Naruto and Masahiro towards the back door. "Then off with you two, do NOT get dirty!"

"Yes nee-chan!" the boys cried as they ran through the house.

"I'll go check on Hideaki, I want to finish getting ready anyway," Maiko waved as she too left the room.

Watching them go, Kakashi grinned, "Well you certainly know how to clear a room."

Harumi smiled, "If you think that was something, you should see me tell a fully-grown man that it is time for his vaccinations."

Kakashi laughed, "I'm sure I don't."

Harumi sat in a chair and waved a hand at the couch, a clear sign for Kakashi to sit, so he did. "I was out shopping with Masahiro, he needed a new winter jacket, and I saw one that Naruto would like."

Kakashi snorted at this.

"Yes, it is bright orange, but it is a warm jacket that is water-resistant, so he doesn't have to worry about getting soaked while walking to and from the Academy. I asked the shop keeper to add the re-enforced collar, so it will be like the one that I got Masahiro, who said it was a 'real shinobi jacket.' Which I am going to translate to mean that he will wear it and not take it off once he is out of my sight."

"That saves me from asking if you could do some shopping for Naruto. He needs warmer clothes and I don't know what to get him." Kakashi ruefully replied.

"Well, he needs more than just a jacket. He will need long-sleeved shirts, longer pants, and some sweatshirts or sweaters to pull on if it gets very cold." Harumi answered.

"So, would you mind while you are shopping for Masahiro, picking some stuff up for Naruto? Maybe some colors other than orange?"

Harumi laughed, "I can do that, although I make no promises because I refuse to spend money on clothes that Naruto will not wear because he doesn't like the color."

"Keep the receipts, I have money set aside for Naruto's clothes, so I can pay for them, or at least pay you back. And some blacks, blues or grays would be nice. They work with orange."

"True, I can do that. Do you know how many shirts and pants he needs?"

"Everything as far as I can tell. His clothes are very worn and are starting to be too small."

"So, a little bit of everything, I can do that. I have the morning off tomorrow, so I can get most of Naruto's clothes shopping done when I go and pick up his jacket."

Kakashi opened his mouth to say something when Naruto yelled from the door to the kitchen, "A new jacket?!"

Harumi turned her head, "While looking for a new winter jacket for Masa-kun, I found a winter jacket that you would like. Masa-kun says it is a 'real shinobi' jacket like his new one is."

"A real shinobi jackets?" Naruto asked, reverence evident in his voice.

"Of course, the future Hokage needs to have a proper shinobi jacket to survive to be Hokage," Harumi replied.

"Yeah, I'm going to be Hokage!" Naruto hollered.

"Inside voice, Naruto," Masahiro chided. "I am standing right next to you!"

"Sorry, Masahiro," Naruto mumbled.

"So tomorrow I'm going to finish up some clothes shopping for Masahiro. Naruto was there anything you would like me to be on the lookout for?" Harumi broke in.

"Like what?" Naruto asked, very confused.

"Long pants, shirts, sweats, sweaters, new shoes," Masahiro offered the same list Harumi gave him when she originally told him he needed new clothes.

"I could use another hooded sweatshirt, nee-chan," Hideaki said as he walked up behind the boys.

"Oh, and I would like a pair of leggings, like the ones you use on missions," Maiko added.

Harumi sighed, "Anything for you Naruto?"

Naruto looked at the floor in front of him, shifting from foot to foot.

"Would it help if I told you Kakashi has already asked me to get you some warmer clothes?" Harumi asked.

Naruto's head jerked up and he looked over to where Kakashi was sprawled on the couch, his nose buried in a book to no one's surprise.

"Maa, I just saw that you were growing out of the clothes you had and since Harumi is already going to be shopping and has a much better idea of what you would need, I asked if she could help me out," Kakashi drawled.

Naruto's face split into a huge grin, "Some longer pants would be nice, and maybe a shirt or two, something that would look awesome under the jacket you picked out."

Harumi nodded, "I can do that. Would you prefer a sweatshirt or a sweater?"

"Umm… whatever is easier?" Naruto replied.

"Soft or not?"

Naruto started to look around the room, anywhere but at the other people in the room.

Harumi stood up, "Never mind Naruto, I will just pick stuff out and if you don't like it Kakashi can always take it back and exchange it for something you would like."

Naruto visibly perked up.

Kakashi stood up, "Time for dinner I think."

Just like a starter shot was fired, the boys ran out the front door, shouting about a race. Maiko shook her head at Hideaki and the two of them took off after the two boys, while Harumi slipped her shoes on and locked the door behind them. A small push of chakra into a seal and the whole house was as secure as she could make it.

It didn't take the group long to reach their destination and get their table. The owner took one look at the four pairs of glaring eyes and wisely didn't say whatever he was going to say when he spotted Naruto in the group. Or it could have been the fact that killing intent had been unleashed at the disgusted look on the owner's face. Either way, the group was seated, and their order was put in. Naruto and Masahiro were still comparing ideas on how to be able to complete the trick Kakashi showed them. At this point, it was all about timing, and the way you release the shuriken, but mostly timing.

Their food arrived, and Harumi started to put the meat and vegetables on the grill in the center of the table. After distributing the first round of food, Harumi stated that

"Everyone was now responsible for grabbing their own because I am going to eat."

However, Kakashi watched as Harumi's actions made her words a lie, she kept the grill full and set the cooked food items on a plate next to the grill where everyone could grab it if they didn't take it straight it from the grill.

"So Nee-chan, how was the hospital?" Hideaki asked.

"It was a good day, I got to spend most of it in the labs, and with the cold season coming, I am making a list of all the things I would like to research. Mainly I would like to investigate a new paralytic, something that would attack a chakra system and not the nervous system."

Hideaki shuddered, "I am not sure what is scarier, the fact that your favorite days are when you think of new and inventive ways to hurt people or the fact that you get very excited when those new ways work."

Harumi stuck her tongue out at him, "You spend your days perfecting ways to kill people using shadows."

Hideaki grinned, "Well not all my days, just the days I am not on a mission."

Maiko shook her head, "At least he is doing something productive, Sensei is having us work on our chakra control again! All because some idiot decided to fall off a tree while we were on patrol!"

"Is said idiot okay?" Harumi asked while Naruto and Masahiro looked at Maiko with wide eyes.

"Of course, he is, it isn't like he doesn't have a hard head, foolish boy!"

Harumi reached over and pat her sister's head, "It is okay, at least it will be dry for the next few days, so you don't have to practice walking up and down wet trees."

Maiko sighed, "At least wet trees would be a challenge."

Kakashi grinned, the only evidence was in his voice, "I could arrange for you to have a wet tree or two, I know a few water users who could be bribed with the promise of entertainment."

"Not yet, but I will keep that in mind. The idiot might need a lesson on paying attention!"

Harumi rubbed her forehead to soothe the headache she was sure to come in the next couple of days. "Just remember that you will have plenty of time to do something constructive and not destructive. Besides aren't the chuunin exams happening soon? Is your sensei going to enter you into it?"

"I don't know, he has been talking about it for a little while, but mainly as a way to get a teammate to behave or pay attention."

"I do remember having that problem with Katsu a long time ago. However, he did get better over time and what's more, during our first mission that went bad, he woke up and trained harder," Harumi replied. "That was also the time when I started to get serious about being a medic and Tamotsu started working on perfecting his genjutsus. I am told it is fairly normal for young people to have some trouble getting focused because compared to what they know, they are doing great."

Maiko nodded, "I can see that, especially since none of us have seen any real violence in our missions."

Harumi nodded, "Don't worry, we are shinobi, violence and blood are like well-known cousins to us, you will see it, hopefully before the chuunin exams, if you are going to be entered."

Hideaki turned to Kakashi, "How about you, Kakashi? Did you have an idiot on your team?"

Kakashi looked over at Harumi who just smiled and continued to put vegetables on Masahiro and Naruto's plates. "As you sister said, all of us have an idiot on our team, the biggest difference is that I was on my team during the war, so we all were brought into this life under the threat of death, where it didn't take much for you to get your entire team killed."

"So, you didn't have to deal with stuff like this?"

"I did, but for the most part it was less not paying attention to what you were doing, and more not being on time for training." Kakashi worked hard to keep his voice even, to not betray the guilt, grief and self-loathing coursing through his system just by thinking about his team. "The other difference was that I was already a chūnin when I was put in a team."

"What?" Hideaki asked.

This time Kakashi stared at Harumi who shrugged at him, very unhelpful! "I graduated from the academy when I was five and became a chūnin when I was six. I didn't get a team until I was eleven, almost twelve when the rest of my previous classmates had graduated. So, I just had a Sensei for the most part."

"Wow, you were apprenticed right away?" Masahiro asked.

Kakashi looked at the young man, "I guess you could say that it was more that I was too young to be on a team because everyone else was twice my age and would end up resenting me." This time Kakashi moved his leg and gently kicked Harumi under the table.

Harumi looked up and correctly read the discomfort in Kakashi's face, the discomfort that quickly changed to frustration and anger when she met his gaze. With an apologetic smile, she changed the subject, "So Naruto, how was your day?" This sufficiently distracted everyone enough to drop the subject of Kakashi's early years, Harumi would have to make it a point to let Maiko and Hideaki know the basics and ask them to not talk about it anymore. They were both smart enough to read between the lines when they wanted too. When Naruto took a breath, after discussing all the boring math they worked on, Harumi caught Kakashi's eye and nodded towards Naruto, a clear demand to tell Naruto about the possible missions.

Sighing, Kakashi spoke up, "Naruto, I may have to go on a mission or many missions at some point in the near future, it is unknown how long I will be gone. With this in mind, Harumi-san has consented to let you stay at her house, should the need arise."

Harumi chuckled at the very confused look on Naruto's face, while Masahiro positively lit up like a light. "What Kakashi-san means, Naruto is that when he has to go out on a mission, you will stay with me. Just like you did the last time Kakashi had a long-term mission."

Naruto's face cleared up and he grinned, "Yeah! I like staying at your house, Harumi-nee-chan. How will I know when Kakashi leaves?"

Harumi shrugged, "I don't know, and really, Kakashi probably doesn't know either," glancing at Kakashi, who nodded, "It will probably be just like it was today when I woke you up, or it will be when I pick you up after the academy."

"But how will I say goodbye?"

Surprisingly, it was Masahiro who answered, "You don't say goodbye, idiot. Goodbye means you don't think Kakashi will return. So instead you just say see you soon, or something like that and you say it every time you part ways. Just like I do with nii-san and nee-chan. It is easy."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Don't call me an idiot!"

Masahiro shrugged, "Okay, but don't act like one."

And with that simple word Naruto's bright personality was back. "Don't say goodbye but wish Kaka-nii a see you later. I can do that."

Kakashi gave Masahiro a grateful smile, "That works for me too, Naruto." Kakashi was surprisingly grateful that the Shimizu family had brought Naruto into their fold. Now Naruto wouldn't have to sit around and worry like he did when his father would go out on missions. Not that younger Kakashi would ever express that, but it was always difficult to come home to a quiet house and know that he would be going to sleep by himself. Kakashi was confident that Harumi would provide enough distractions that Naruto wouldn't worry about him.

The rest of the meal was filled with stories about patients and the hospital and a small game about the worst D-rank they had been on. Surprisingly it was the dreaded "Find Tora" missions that seemed to top the lists of the worst mission. Naruto was upset that shinobi would be reduced to doing chores, but Hideaki explained it as a necessary skill so that one could perform such tasks when undercover.

While Maiko said it was so that the civilian population would get used to seeing these new shinobi as shinobi and it had nothing to do with giving the civilian population a sense of control or lessen the guilt of seeing children grow up to be trained killers. Kakashi was convinced that the last part was pure sarcasm, but he could be wrong.

After paying the bill, Kakashi was happy to see that it would only take a C-Rank to cover it, the two groups parted ways. Kakashi and Naruto heading to their place, while Harumi and her family heading to their home. The short walk to the house and Kakashi quickly unlocked the house, disengaged the security seals and the two males were in the house. Naruto ran to his bedroom and a few minutes later Kakashi heard the tell-tale sign of Naruto taking a shower, the water running.

Walking to the kitchen Kakashi quickly got some water going for tea and he shook his head, at the habit Harumi seemed to have passed on to him. Harumi said that it was something her mother used to do, it gave her a chance to think about something, while also being productive, in other words, she couldn't get stuck in her head.  
Kakashi stopped midway through pouring the boiling water over the tea, he was copying Harumi. In order to create a 'safe and loving environment,' Kakashi was copying what Harumi did in her home to make sure her siblings had the environment she wanted. Kakashi needed to think about this. Yes, this mission was to ensure Naruto's safety and to ensure that he could grow into an adult, to protect the kyuubi container, to find and eliminate the current threat to the two previous points. Kakashi was very aware that he was the least qualified to be a guardian and to give Naruto a safe and happy home. Hell, what did he even know about those things? So, he was copying what he saw, and since he mostly saw Harumi, he was copying her. That was fine in the short term, but for the long term, Kakashi would need to figure out what would work for him, or did he?

Well, to be honest, this making tea all of the time was annoying and not something he wanted to continue to do, so strike that off the list. Hiding vegetables was a good idea especially since it allowed Naruto to actually eat the vegetables. Bedtime stories were okay too because it did help Naruto with his reading skills. Maybe he should make a list, that way he could eliminate all the stuff that he knew wouldn't last at least not for him. Slightly disgust with himself for even thinking about this stuff, he was a shinobi, not a fucking housewife!

However, that sneaky little voice that sounded suspiciously like Obito replied, "For this mission you are. Not only a housewife but a parent too!"

The water turned off and a few minutes later Naruto came bounding down the stairs. Kakashi was sitting on the couch flipping through a book.

"Is it time for bed, Kaka-nii?" Kakashi looked over his shoulder, taking in Naruto's appearance. He was dressed in pajamas, with his hair sticking out in all directions, holding a book in his hand.

"What book do you have, Naruto?" Kakashi watched at Naruto's cheeks turned pink.

"I found a book at school about different jutsus, and though that since you read a lot of books about jutsus, you could help me with this one," Naruto replied, his voice slightly above a whisper.

Kakashi pats the seat next to him and nodded, "Of course we can read it together. It has been a while since I have read about Academy jutsus and it will be interesting to see if they have changed the books." Naruto climbed up and settled against Kakashi's side, letting his fingers move under the words, Kakashi slowly read the book on how to use the three jutsus taught by the Academy.

About halfway through the book, Kakashi noticed that Naruto's weight was leaning heavily against his shoulders. He glanced over and saw the blond boy's eyes were closed and his breathing was very even, all things pointing to Naruto fell asleep a while ago. Smiling to himself, Kakashi noted the page he was on and set the book down. Then leaning down, he slipped one arm under Naruto's shoulders and the other arm under his knees. Twisting, Kakashi set Naruto on his lap and after securing his hold, he stood up. Moving quickly, and quietly, Kakashi took Naruto to his room, pulled back the blanket and set Naruto down on the bed. Pulling the blanket up to Naruto's shoulders, Kakashi tucked him in. Checking on the security seals around the room one last time, Kakashi made sure the door was slightly ajar and turned off the hallway light.

Moving back to the living area, Kakashi set both the book he was reading and the book Naruto borrowed from school onto the kitchen table. He poured himself a glass of sake and sat down to try and make a list of what Kakashi as a parent figure will do. Topping the list was to continue with storytime and to continue to have Naruto take showers daily. Taking a sip of sake, he drew a line down the center of the paper and wrote tea in the other column. Continuing with the list, Kakashi found that there were more things he could continue to do, such as having Naruto eat more vegetables, eat less ramen, and use training as an incentive to get school work done. However, Kakashi wouldn't continue to make tea all of the time, he wouldn't worry about holding Naruto's hand or giving him hugs all the time. Harumi could handle that part, besides Kakashi hated touching people, he couldn't remember the last time he willingly gave someone a hug that wasn't mission-related. He would continue to fill in the education that was missing, including reading, writing, math and chakra control, more than just what they were teaching at school and what he was learning with Harumi. Satisfied with his lists and progress so far, Kakashi put the pen and paper away, folded the list and stuck it in the pocket of his vest.

Making sure the kitchen and living room areas were picked up and ready for the next day, Kakashi walked slowly to his room, making sure a small night light was on in the hallway in case Naruto needed something in the middle of the night.

 **AN: And here we are, family dinner done. Shopping done. Kakashi is thinking long term... I think this is going well. Let me know what you think.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and to everyone who loved the little Christmas Omake. I have a few more omake ideas running around my head, we will have to see if I am get the onto paper. As always, I hope you enjoy. Have a safe a happy week.**


	33. Chapter 32

The next weeks fell into a simple routine, Kakashi would wake up early, start some coffee, wake up Naruto, get some breakfast for the two of them. After cleaning up, Kakashi and Naruto would head to the Academy where Naruto and Masahiro would talk about something, and if Sasuke was around, the three of them would talk and it would be loud and high pitched. Thank kami that Harumi would be there to translate the three of them.

After dropping off the boys at the Academy, Kakashi and Harumi would decide who would pick up the boys, most of the time it was Harumi and she would take the boys over to the training grounds on the Nara compound and the boys would do their homework and then train. Once the plan for the boys was finished, Kakashi would run to ANBU headquarters where he would change into his ANBU uniform and head out to one of the ANBU only training grounds.

There, Team Ro would meet up and go over maneuvers or sparing, or anything else Kakashi could think of to make sure his team was in the best shape for an unknown mission. After a number of hours of training with the team, Kakashi would then train by himself, bringing himself back to his best, getting faster with his hand signs, perfecting his taijutsu and ninjutsu. He would train until it was time to go and pick up Naruto.

Grabbing Naruto and getting dinner, either with the Shimizu family or some fast takeout would start the final part of the evening. After dinner, some reading, a shower and it was bed time, only to start again.

The wait before being called into action was a bad place to be for long. Shinobi would get restless, which leads to carelessness which means someone is taking a trip to the hospital to get healed. It also leads to pranks.

Which was why Kakashi was currently looking at himself in the mirror, staring at the bright yellow hair sitting on top of his head. He went to sleep with his hair silver, he was sure of that, which means either someone came into his room in the middle of the night, or someone had done something to his shampoo. Or this was all an elaborate henge.

Forming the ram seal, Kakashi muttered, "Kai!" Nothing happened, so not a henge. He pulled on the bright yellow, twisted his head around to see the back of it, the normal silver was showing as streaks in the bright yellow. Shrugging, Kakashi decided to let the others see their handy work and just think of a suitable revenge. Finished shaving, Kakashi put his forehead protector across his eye, secured his mask and walked out of his room into the hallway.

He could hear Naruto moving around in his room and raised his voice a little, "Hurry up Naruto, you still need some breakfast before we head over to the Academy."

"Okay, Kaka-nii," came the voice from Naruto's room.

Kakashi moved into the kitchen, started the coffee and pulled some rice out of the fridge to make breakfast. Rice porridge with egg and thinly sliced vegetables would be a good and healthy start to both his and Naruto's day. Quickly slicing the vegetables and adding them to the rice heating up, Kakashi then pulled out some leftovers for their lunches. Packing the bento boxes with the leftovers, Kakashi set them over to the side. Then stirring the rice porridge and adding the eggs, Kakashi quickly dished up breakfast.

"Naruto! Time to eat!" Kakashi yelled over his shoulder as he placed the bowls on the table and turned back to the kitchen to get his coffee.

Naruto came running into the kitchen and slid into his seat. Picking up his chopsticks, Naruto started shoveling food into his mouth as fast as he could.

"Slow down, Naruto, or you will choke," Kakashi admonished.

Naruto looked up and froze, his food forgotten halfway to his mouth. "Kaka-nii?!" Naruto's pitch going higher, "What happened to your hair?"

Kakashi shrugged and took a sip of coffee, "I don't know what you are talking about. I have a new shampoo I'm trying out."

Naruto stared, "Your hair looks like mine!"

"Does it? Do you like it?" Naruto jumped up, a grin spread across his face, "I love it Kaka-nii! Now you really look like my nii-san!"

Kakashi started to smile but stopped when he heard the almost imperceptible hesitation in Naruto's voice. Not sure if he heard it correctly, Kakashi turned and rubbed his hair on Naruto's face, "I do huh?"

Naruto's lips twitched, "You do!"

Kakashi's grin grew, so that was how they did it, Naruto was in on the prank. "Then you think I should keep it?"

"Only if you like it, I mean I like your normal hair, but it is cool to see you with hair like mine."

"I might, I need to think about it, it was a surprise this morning."

Naruto swallowed another laugh, now that he was looking for it, Kakashi could hear and see it, "Okay, but you will keep it for the day?"

"Of course, Naru-chan, how else will I figure out if I like it or not?" Kakashi quickly ate the rest of his breakfast and swallowed the now warm coffee, "Now hurry up, you don't want to be late to the Academy."

With that reminder, Naruto rushed back to his food and went back to shoveling it into his mouth as fast as he could.

"Don't eat so fast, you will choke," Kakashi admonished again.

Naruto slowed down, but not by much. It wasn't long before breakfast was done, and Naruto was putting the bowls in the sink while Kakashi moved their bento boxes to the front door. Then Naruto ran over to put his sandals on. Leaving the apartment, the two walked to the Academy.

A few minutes later, Naruto ran ahead to the corner where Masahiro and Harumi waited with the Uchiha brothers.

"Sasuke! Masahiro!" Naruto shouted, causing the boys to turn and Kakashi watched as Masahiro grinned at the sight of Naruto. The sight of it made Kakashi happy, Naruto was making friends and they appreciated him. Sensei and Kushina-nee would be happy. Kakashi felt his grin turn evil when his gaze turned to Itachi staring at him. Oh yes, he still needed to come up with a suitable punishment for his team.

"Look! Kaka-nii has hair like mine!" Naruto shouted once he was closer to the group. The boys looked over at Kakashi and they both grinned.

"Cool! Do you think it will stay that way?" Masahiro asked.

"Not sure, Kaka-nii said that he is going to try it out and see how he likes it."

By this time Kakashi had made it to the corner and the group started to move.

"Good morning, Kakashi," Harumi's soft voice sent butterflies moving in his stomach.

"Good morning, Harumi," glancing over at Itachi, who was as stoic as ever, "Itachi."

"Taichou," Itachi murmured. Kakashi noticed the slight crinkling at the corners of Itachi's eyes, signs of guilt perhaps, at the very least amusement.

"If you wanted to dye your hair, Kakashi, I would have come over to help you, to make sure you got the back and everything," Harumi said, her voice shaking with laughter.

Kakashi rolled his eye at her, "I will have to tell you about my experience later."

"I can live with that," Harumi said, "Would you like me to pick up Naruto today? I have an unexpected day off at the hospital, so I am free."

Kakashi tilted his head, "If you don't mind. It seems I have to work my team extra hard today."

"Oh?" Harumi asked.

"Well apparently they were really worried about my hair, so they helped to pick out new shampoo for me," Kakashi said.

Harumi started to laugh, "Oh they did huh? Well at least they picked a good one for you. I can tell it is really working well with your hair."

Masahiro decided to speak up, "What does that mean, Haru-nee?"

Kakashi watched at Harumi turned her whole attention to her brother. It was interesting to watch as Harumi was able to not only focus her entire body on the person she was talking to, but also how she simultaneously was in tune with the world. Kakashi had seen that quality the very few times he had seen Harumi work in the hospital.

"Well it means that I think Kakashi-san's team did a good job with their choice. I mean, they could have picked something that caused his hair to fall out, or fall flat, or even color his hair green!"

Masahiro laughed, "You mean like that time when I was really little, and your hair turned green?"

Harumi laughed as she pushed her brother's shoulder to get him moving again before she stood up, "Yes, like that time my hair turned green." Harumi turned towards Kakashi and Itachi, "My team and I were tasked with a simple protection mission, but we couldn't let the girl she was being protected. So, we all had to change our looks, our sensei decided this would be the perfect opportunity to practice our civilian ways of disguise. Well long story short, I had this dark forest green hair for weeks, because my sensei forgot to tell me that the shampoo I was given with the hair dye, was designed to continually dye my hair."

Kakashi watched as Harumi's eyes dancing with laughter, slowly grew soft at the memory.

"Mother was so mad at Sensei, I'm sure that he was convinced that he was talking to Yoshino-oba. Sensei took me to a special salon that afternoon and my hair was back to it's normal black by dinner." Harumi smiled, "Mother sat me down that night and explained the whole process of espionage hair dye and how that whole thing works. Thankfully that was much less painful than the other talks we have had."

Kakashi nodded as he watched the three boys race up to the stairs leading to the Academy.

"I will see you three this afternoon! Behave!" Harumi called after their retreating backs. "How did your Father take the news that Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't be in the same class?" Harumi asked Itachi.

"He was disappointed, but he is confident that Sasuke will continue to improve enough to start the process of early graduation," Itachi answered.

Kakashi winced, "How do you feel about that?"

Itachi shrugged, "What I feel doesn't matter."

Harumi put her hand on the teen's shoulder, "It does matter to Sasuke. If you don't think early graduation will be good for him, then Kakashi and I can see what we can do to make that happen."

"What can you do against the Uchiha clan head?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi knew the teen well enough to hear the slight bitterness in his voice.

"Well I know I'm not part of the Uchiha clan, but I am the niece of the current head of the Nara clan. I also am connected to the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans. Kakashi is the head of the Hatake clan, and an ANBU captain. And you are the genius of the Uchiha clan, I am sure between the three of us, we can figure something out."

Kakashi nodded, but before he could say anything the doors to the Academy flung open and Tamotsu came storming out.

"Harumi Shimizu! You are supposed to be at home resting!"

Kakashi watched as Harumi took a step back.

"I was just walking the boys to the Academy, then I was heading straight home."

"What am I supposed to say to Katsu when he asks if I saw you huh?"

Harumi rolled her eyes, "The truth? I am a fully-grown adult, I think I can walk the few blocks between my house and the Academy."

"That isn't the point and you know it. You fainted this morning while training. You need to rest!"

Both Kakashi and Itachi's eyes settled on her and Harumi could feel the weight of the combined stares.

Shrugging she answered, "I fainted because I didn't eat breakfast and I had just gotten off a very difficult surgery that I wasn't supposed to be doing, but I was called in anyway because the medics on duty couldn't do it! So, it isn't my fault!"

"What do you mean you fainted?" Kakashi demanded.

Harumi looked at him, "It was exactly as I said, I was called into the hospital for surgery, then I went for some training. It isn't my fault no one listened when I said I was running low on energy and decided that it was the perfect time to scale Hokage Mountain using only our hands!" The last sentence was said in a slightly louder voice as she yelled at the Academy Sensei in front of her.

"You could have said no," Tamotsu replied.

"If you think about it, I tried, but you two wouldn't hear no for an answer. 'But Haru-chan, how are you going to keep up your strength if you don't train when you are tired?' 'You know you want too'," Harumi said, mimicking her teammates.

Tamotsu threw his hands up in the air, "You didn't protest too much. And I am not taking the blame for you falling!"

"What?" Kakashi interrupted. "You fell, off Hokage Mountain?"

Tamotsu jerked his head to look at Kakashi, his mouth dropping open as he took his first good look at the newly blond jounin. "What?" shaking his head he continued, "Never mind, the point is, Harumi, go home! You should be eating and resting. I will bring the boys to you if you are not here to pick them up. But for all that is holy, go to sleep!"

Harumi rolled her eyes, "Where do you think I was going? Off to buy clothes, or maybe some grocery shopping I have two extra mouths to feed tonight?"

Tamotsu glared at Kakashi, "You really shouldn't be eating at Harumi's house every… ouch!"

Harumi pulled her hand away from the back of his head, "The two extra mouths is not Kakashi and Naru-chan, although they are always welcome to my house. The two extra mouths would be Maiko's team. Her sensei is in the hospital for a little while and they are feeling a little out of sorts, so I offered to make them all a good dinner and let them all talk."

"That was nice of you, but should you be doing..."

Tamotsu was cut off again, but this time with a hand over his mouth, "I have no condition that won't be solved with some rest. However, if you continue this train of thought, I will be forced to remind you why Nara women are feared in Konoha."

Both Kakashi and Itachi watched fascinated by the way the chunin swallowed audibly and grew steadily paler.

Itachi glanced at Harumi and saw that she was glaring at her teammate.

Kakashi was shocked to feel the temperature drop around the woman standing next to him.

"No, Harumi, I'm done. I am just worried about you," Tamotsu gave her a small smile, "You fell off Hokage mountain this morning. If it wasn't for Katsu and me, you would have been nothing but a stain on the ground. It took you almost three minutes to wake back up!"

Kakashi and Itachi shared a look, both knowing that this was more than just being tired and hungry. "Don't worry, Tamotsu-san, Itachi and I will make sure Harumi makes it home. We have to talk about the boys' training anyway," Kakashi said, placing his arm on Harumi's shoulder and pulling her away from Tamotsu, and into Kakashi's space.

Tamotsu opened his mouth, either to protest or agree, but quickly shut it when Harumi continued to glare at him. Nodding his head, he turned around and jogged back into the Academy.

Kakashi pulled Harumi around to face him, "What happened?"

Harumi sighed, "It is like I said, I was tired from a long night of surgery and I didn't take care of myself. Then while I was climbing, I," she hesitated, "About halfway up the mountain, I could feel someone watching me. It could have been paranoia, I suppose," Harumi glanced around, "actually, could we talk about this after you walk me home?"

Kakashi felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise at the same time Itachi's eyes flashed red. "Itachi?" Kakashi asked, his voice just a whisper of sound.

"On it," Itachi said as he grabbed Harumi's arm and with a "left my stomach somewhere in the area of my toes" feeling, Harumi found herself standing in a room that was not familiar to her.

The lack of natural light said they were either underground or deep in center of a building. The slight buzzing of the overhead lights was the only sound, well other than their breathing. A quick glance showed some tables with chairs, a large board on the wall with some sort of formation plan, maybe, on it. There was a small sink and a single burner stove, on the stove was a tea kettle and a small cabinet above the whole thing.

Itachi moved to the sink and took the tea kettle and added some water to it before placing it on the stove and turning it on. He then pulled out a small tea pot and added some tea leaves to it, then pulled four cups from the cabinet. Setting everything on a tray, Itachi turned to look at Harumi, who was still standing in the center of the room.

"You should sit. Shishui and Kakashi- taichou will be here in a moment and they will be able to tell us what happened."

"Itachi-san, can you tell me what happened? Or, where are we? Or why we are here and Kakashi is somewhere else?" Harumi asked, sitting in the first chair she touched.

"We are in Team Ro's mission room, it has another name, but Team Ro has taken it over for the time being. We are here because it is the most secure room that most people don't know about which means most people can't follow us here. As for why, that was taichou's call. I am just following orders."

"So, in other words, I should save my questions for Kakashi?" Harumi guessed.

"That would be best," Itachi answered, pouring the boiling water into the tea pot and bringing the whole tray over to where Harumi was sitting. Setting it on the table and taking a seat across from her, Itachi sat down.

"Since I can't get answers from you, is there something you wanted to talk about?" Harumi asked, frustration coloring her words.

"I was hoping to talk to you about Sasuke, if we had the chance before I was deployed. This seems to be the best time to do it," Itachi replied with a small shrug.

Harumi sighed, placing her elbows on the table and her head in her hand, she focused on Itachi, "What about Sasuke?"

Itachi took a deep breath, "I know that you will be looking after Naruto-chan when we are deployed, and I was hoping that you would be willing to continue to work with Sasuke while I am gone?"

"You want me to continue to train with Sasuke, Naruto and Masahiro?" Harumi asked.

Itachi nodded, "My ototo does not interact with many people outside of our clan, I thought it would be beneficial for him to continue to interact with your brother, Naruto and whom ever else you were going to intact with. Oka-san and Oto-san wouldn't be offended if you were to continue to train with him, simply because you have shown yourself to be a trustworthy person."

"Of course, I will continue to train Sasuke, do I need to talk to your parents about this?"

"I will take care of that," Itachi paused looking over Harumi's shoulder his eyes a little glassy like he was thinking about something, "My parents may ask you for something more, I don't know what it would be, but don't feel obligated to agree to what they ask. Sasuke will be able to continue to train with his friends with no strings attached."

Harumi was slightly confused by the harsh tone Itachi used when talking of favors and strings, there was more going on than she knew. "I know you are a very private person, Itachi-san, but just know that if you ever need to talk to someone, who is able to be impartial or you just need a sounding board who isn't involved in ANBU or the Uchiha clan, I can listen," Harumi was guessing at the possible causes, but she was confident that her guesses would prove correct, after all ANBU and Clan problems were always the most stressful problems. One because of the emotions involved and the other because it was done in the shadows and therefore couldn't be talked about.

Itachi nodded, "I will keep that in mind, Harumi-san."

Harumi smiled at the teen and poured a cup of tea for each of them, "So now that we have taken care of the family business, does Sasuke like training with us?"

"He says he like it, although he says he like is better when I am there with you."

Harumi laughed, "Isn't that how it always is with younger siblings? I can't tell you how many times Hideaki, Maiko or Masahiro would complain about not training with me, at least until Hideo and Maiko graduated and were put onto genin teams."

"Did they stop asking to train with you?" Itachi asked.

"Not really, but they did ask less frequently. With the four of us, we do try to get together a couple times a month, just to see how we are doing. But it does help that Hideaki and Maiko have different specialties from mine."

"What are their specialties?" Harumi shrugged, taking a sip of her tea, "My siblings are better versed in the Nara family jutsu than I am. I can do the basics, but my focus, even before I became a full-time medic was trying to incorporate poison into my water jutsus. It didn't always work out the way I wanted too, but it did give me a fun basis for my medical training."

"What made you want to go into poisons instead of using the shadow jutsus?"

"My father used poisons, since I had difficulties using Mother's jutsus, I focused on poisons. Also, since I am water natured, I started working to get my medic's certification. It was difficult to train to be a medic and be on a genin team full time, but it ended up working out well. When my parents died, it was an easy way to ensure that I was around for my siblings who needed me."

"How old were you when they died?"

"I was fourteen and had made chūnin eight months prior, my parents were very proud. But it was because I was a chunin and Hideaki would be graduating the Academy later that year, that I was able to become the guardian of my siblings."

"Do you ever regret giving up full time missions?"

Harumi took a drink of tea, alerted by the seriousness of Itachi's voice that this was not just an idle question. "I miss the rush of doing missions, the ability to stretch my legs and really move, the knowledge that I am keeping my village safe. However, there are many things I don't miss at all. For instance, I don't miss sleeping outside for the majority of my days, nor do I miss having to eat rations. I don't miss having to deal with stupid clients on escort missions or stealing scrolls or any of the other mindless missions I used to go on. But most of my complaints is simply because I was always the medic on the team, which means even if there was a problem, I stayed in the background and let my teammates handle the problems." Harumi waved her hand in the air as if brushing those thoughts away, "But none of that matters, because my team would have been broken up even more than they already were, because when I was promoted, so were my teammates and Tamotsu started the exams to teach at the Academy while Katsu was invited to join ANBU. So, in the end it all worked out for the best."

"I am confused, you say this is for the best because your team would have been split up anyway?"

Harumi smiled, "I guess that is one way to look at it, another way is to say that I am looking at the bright side of the major change that was me becoming a genin, gaining guardianship over my siblings and moving to be a full-time medic in the hospital."

Itachi took a sip of his tea, "Hm," was his only reply before his eyes turned red as he looked at the door.

Harumi followed his gaze, as the door was shoved open. Kakashi stalked in, with a tall man with dark hair that was in serious need of a brush, followed closely by Tenzō and a woman with long purple hair. Three of the four had ANBU masks strapped to the side of their heads. Seeing me, the woman and the dark-haired man halted just inside the doorway. Kakashi glanced at them before turning his gaze on Harumi.

"Are you okay?"

Harumi summoned a reassuring smile, "Of course. If I can't handle a simple body flicker, then I am not much of a jonin."

"Have you had anything to eat or drink yet?"

Harumi held up her mostly empty cup of tea, "Just this," she made a show of glancing around the room, "and from the looks of this place, there isn't food to be had, so no food yet."

"Tenzō," Kakashi said.

"On it, is there anything specific you would like Harumi-san?" Tenzō asked.

Harumi just shrugged, "No egg, of possible, but nothing specific Tenzō-san."

Tenzō nodded and walked out of the room, moving the two people away from the door and closing it behind him.

Kakashi stared at the closed door for a few minutes, his eyes had the glassy look of someone lost in thought.

Harumi used this time to assess Kakashi's condition. He was leaning slightly on his left leg and there were fresh scratches on his right hand. Frowning, she looked closer, there were specks of blood on the bandages on his left leg and a small cut through his pants on his right leg. Harumi quickly stood up and walked over to Kakashi. Before she could take two steps, a blur of purple stopped in front of her. With a glance at the hand on her shoulder, Harumi turned her focus onto the purple haired woman in front of her, with a raised eyebrow she waited.

"What are you doing?" The woman hissed.

"Making sure Kakashi doesn't have more injuries that I can't see," Harumi answered.

"What makes you think he is injured," the dark-haired man demanded.

Harumi didn't roll her eyes, but Kakashi could see the subtle twitch at the corner of her eyes that meant she was getting irritated.

"He has scratches on his right hand," Harumi waved a hand in the direction of extremity as she spoke, "there is blood on his left leg and a cut in the right leg of his pants. He is favoring his right leg slightly, which tells me that he is injured. And," Harumi paused, "If you bothered to use your noses for something other than looking down at me, you would notice the smell of blood."

Itachi turned to look at Kakashi, who was slowly straightening his posture, dividing his weight more evenly, and moving his right hand under his left arm, still crossed in front of his body.

"Let her look, Yūgao, she had fixed me up before. Besides," Kakashi said as he moved to lean against one of the tables, "Harumi won't let a person suffer, especially if she can fix it."

Harumi's head swiveled towards Itachi when he made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

"Itachi-san?"

Itachi just gave a small smile, "You are patching up Kakashi-taichou and he claims you wouldn't let him suffer. You did, but because it was in his best interest."

Harumi smiled at the young teen, "You are correct, I have been known to not fully heal someone because of their stubbornness in not staying in the hospital where they belong!" The last part of her sentence was said through gritted teeth and a glare at the now blond jonin who was famous for his hospital escapes.

"Maa, it isn't personal, I just don't like being in the hospital. Not that you have much room to talk, you couldn't wait to get out of there after twelve hours."

"True," Harumi nodded as Yūgao moved her hand away and Harumi moved to stand in front of the jonin. Focusing her chakra, her hand began to glow blue as she put her hand on Kakashi's arm, "But my reasons were purely because I wasn't going to get any rest at the hospital because people were going to constantly be asking for my help. Case in point, I had only been awake for three hours when a new medic came in and asked for a second opinion on a poison case he was working on."

"What?" Kakashi asked, "How did I not know that?"

Harumi shrugged, as she made note of all of Kakashi's injuries. The gash in his leg was the biggest one, but the cracked rib was slightly worrying. However, the rib was already healing, which meant it happened before today.

"You don't know everything about me Kakashi. You can't watch over me all the time, every day. Do you really want to irritate me while I am trying to heal you?" Harumi's hand turned from blue to green and she started to knit together the gash in his leg and to fully heal the cracked rib. "I'm not even going to ask you who tried to heal your rib, because then I would be forced to yell at someone for either not finishing the job, not doing the small parts they did correctly or even at a beginning level of maybe correct."

A swift intake of breath behind her told Harumi that the person who did the healing was in the room with them. The question was would that person take offense to her remarks, which really, she could care less if they did or not. Doing a poor job on a healing was never acceptable, especially since they were in the village. If you couldn't handle the healing, send for someone who can! It was a simple rule.

"Now what makes you think that someone tried to heal it?" Kakashi asked.

Harumi glared at him, "Do you really want me to answer that, Kakashi Hatake?"

"Sure, I am curious as to how you know that I had a healing lately."

Harumi gave a sigh of frustration and dropped her hand, now that she was done using her chakra to heal the stubborn man, "I can feel the residual chakra from someone running through your system. I also know what normal healing looks like and what healing with chakra looks like." Seeing the skeptical look Kakashi was giving her, Harumi rolled her eyes and move to go sit back in her seat from earlier, "Sit down and drink some tea Kakashi, you need fluids to replace the ones you lost. Now back to knowing what healing looks like, it is my job. I am sure you can look over an ambush scene and tell me which jutsus were used first and where people were standing during the fight," Harumi shrugged, "It is your job to know those things, just like it is my job to know the stages of healing and what types of healing look like."

"Tell me about my rib then," Kakashi said, glancing at Yūgao over Harumi's shoulder.

"You are worse than my instructors at the hospital. Fine, your rib was cracked sometime yesterday, due to the placement of the crack and the direction, I would say that it is from you running into something rather than something running into you. You also have someone look at your injuries, which must have been extensive for there still to be some chakra left in your system. Instead of fully healing the rib, the person put the chakra equivalent to a band aid on it. It looks pretty but is useless when it comes to a cracked or broken bone."

"Would you be able to tell who it did if you had a sample of chakra to work with?" The dark-haired man asked.

"I doubt it. I know that I am not familiar with the chakra, so it is fairly easy to figure out that it is not someone who works at the hospital routinely. So, I would say it was either a field medic, or more than likely someone who has had one of those week long 'how to heal your teammates' classes that are given to people interested in learning some basic field medic training. Mainly they give you just enough information to not kill your teammate with your chakra, how to stop the bleeding and ensure that someone is stable enough for transport." Harumi could feel the tension in the room rise with every word she said, if she pushed maybe someone would say something without her asking. On the other hand, it never hurt to just ask. "Now, do you want to tell me what this is all about, Kakashi? I don't have all day to sit around, heal you or dazzle you with my medical knowledge."

Kakashi leaned back in the chair he was seated in, "Shishui, Yūgao, sit down. There is no need to hover."

Harumi watched as the jonin's chest rose as he took a deep breath, "Well to put it simply, the Hokage and I believe that someone is following you. It started shortly after you went back to work in the hospital after you were poisoned. The spy is somehow getting information back to Ame about what your movements are. In fact, we are pretty sure they know your schedule and the schedule of those around you."

"What makes you think that?"

"The stalker is only sensed when you are not with me or Naruto."

"Sensed? Not seen?"

"We haven't been able to find more than just a scent of the person, or the smallest trace of chakra. No one has seen the person or can tell us anything about him."

"But you can smell him?" Harumi asked.

"Yes, I had my nin-kin also searching for him."

"And they couldn't pick up a trail?" When Kakashi nodded, Harumi continued, "Pakkun must have been upset."

Harumi could see Kakashi's lips curl under his mask, "He was not happy about it."

Harumi poured herself some more tea and took a sip, "What do want me to do? I am assuming the Hokage has spoken to you about this, or else I would still be in the dark."

The dark-haired man snorted, "Some kunoichi you are, couldn't even tell you were being followed."

Harumi rolled her eyes, "I never said I didn't know I was being followed Uchiha-san. Just that I was kept in the dark about what ANBU and the Hokage was planning to do about it." She could feel the Uchiha's eyes on her back, even if she didn't see Itachi's Sharingan flash briefly, she could almost feel the Uchiha's Sharingan staring at her. "Should I feel honored that you find me enough of a threat that you feel compelled to use the Sharingan on me? Or maybe you are just trying to figure me out, hmm Uchiha-san?"

Before he could say anything, the door was slowly opened and Tenzō walked in carrying a small tray with two bowls covered and a small plate also covered.

Harumi smiled as he placed the tray in front of her, "Thank you, Tenzō. This was more than you needed to do, a simple bowl of takeout ramen would have been fine."

Harumi watched as the young man's ears turned pink and he ducked his head, "It was no trouble, Harumi-san. After all you have prepared a much more elaborate breakfast for us. It was the least I could do."

Harumi smiled and made sure to catch his warm brown eyes, "You are always welcome to come over for any meal, consider it a standing invitation. Besides, it will give Kakashi another adult to talk to, besides me."

"Wait, what?" The purple haired woman, Yūgao said, holding her hands in a time out sign. "You know Tenzō and Itachi? Enough that Itachi is willing to challenge his cousin for you and that Tenzō has had breakfast with you?" Her tone implying something other than a meal was shared between the two.

Harumi turned to face the woman head on, "Yūgao-san, wasn't it?" When the woman nodded, Harumi continued, "I have shared many meals with patients, their friends and family. I don't like the implication that I have done something inappropriate with my siblings in my house. I also know Itachi-san because his brother is two years younger than my youngest brother and the same age as Naruto-chan who is close enough to my youngest brother that he could be considered a sibling. Also, the three boys have often done their homework in my home and in each other's homes. It is only natural I would have met Sasuke's precious nii-san."

Kakashi shoved a spoon in Harumi's hand, "Eat, you have a long day ahead of you, especially since you will be spending it where I can see you and I have training to do."

"What?" Harumi asked.

"If your stalker isn't waiting for you to be alone anymore which is a possibility since he was there this morning, then he could strike at any time, which means you are not to leave my sight until we can get a better idea of what is going on."

Harumi frowned, "Can't you get someone else to play babysitter? I would think you would be too busy trying to get clues or something."

"I can do both."

Harumi rolled her eyes and started to eat the meal Tenzō made for her. "Do I have a choice?"

"If you want, I could get Hokage-sama or Shikaku tell you."

Harumi frowned, "To be honest I am not sure I want Shikaku-oji to know about this. He might let it slip and Yoshino-oba will start to meddle. She is already mad that I was in the hospital as a patient."

Kakashi laughed, "At least you were out of the hospital when she started to hoover," having heard all of the complaints, Kakashi knew there was a reason Harumi didn't want her aunt to hear about this.

"So, this is the mysterious medic," Shishui said softly, probably to himself.

"What mysterious medic?" Yugao asked.

"Uchiha-sama was talking about a medic that saved Sasuke's life a while back. He wanted to find some information about her, but since I was going on a mission the next day, he didn't ask me. I just heard it through the gossip that all she asked for was a favor."

Harumi frowned, "I didn't ask for a favor, in fact I didn't want anything. It was Uchiha-sama who decided a favor was required. It wasn't even that big of a deal, all I did was hide the boys in a small rock formation," she grumbled. "I really wish people would stop bringing that incident up. It isn't like being poisoned is that big of a deal. I can't tell you how many times R&D has come to us because they needed an antidote to a poison that they accidently created."

"Well you have to admit, it isn't every day that a non-clan member saves a clan member's life inside the village." Shishui replied.

Harumi rolled her eyes again, "I'm not clanless, my mother was a Nara, she married outside the clan and father didn't want to give up his clan name, since he was the last one in Konoha."

Itachi stared at Shishui, "Normally I am the socially inept one. This is unlike you."

Shishui frowned at him, "You are quick to defend a woman who is going to cause all of us nothing but a bigger headache."

Itachi shrugged, "Harumi-san is a medic that has been caught up in something that is beyond her control. Should I be upset by that? Should I be mad that Hokage-sama has deemed Team Ro the only team who can deal with this threat? Should I be mad at someone who shows kindness to Sasuke and treats him the same as she does her own brother, all without asking for anything in return?"

"I wouldn't expect you to be upset, but a little more hesitant would be more like you."

Tenzō frowned at Shishui, "Are you upset because Itachi is protective of someone not his brother?"

Shishui frowned, "No that isn't it at all. All I'm saying is that this woman has caused us nothing but trouble since we were assigned to watch her and with her knowing what she knows, she will cause even more trouble."

Harumi had finished her soup and was working her way through the grilled fish and rice, pointedly ignoring the discussion going on at the table. "I never asked for a babysitter. I am certain that my uncle didn't ask for me to have a babysitter, so I am not sure what all of the fuss is about. You are welcome to just leave me be, Uchiha-san, especially if I am such a bothersome woman, as you claim."

"Now, now, no need to call each other names," Kakashi spoke up, "We are watching Shimizu-san because Hokage-sama had made it our mission, at least until we have to leave the village for another mission. Now the reason I am letting Harumi know of the stalker is because something happened this morning while she was with Itachi and myself. And if I am reading the situation correctly, something happened while she was with her teammates."

Harumi didn't shift in her seat as five sets of eyes turned to her. She also didn't roll her eyes at the very obvious way Kakashi had distracted everyone with his observation. She could feel the electric tension in the room, similar to the mission room when a team was given a mission. Moving slowly, she continued to take small bites between her report. Because really, this couldn't be anything else with how everyone was staring at her, waiting to pick apart her words.

"This morning I was out training with my teammates. It was decided that we would climb Hokage mountain, using only our hands. I informed my teammates that I was tired from a long night of surgery and I hadn't eaten anything since the night before, but it was decided that I should be fine. Everything was going fine, until we were about three quarters of the way up the mountain, when suddenly the rock I was holding onto crumbled under my hands. When I moved to find something to grab onto, I found myself falling through the air. The next thing I know, Katsu is holding onto me and Tamotsu is lowering us with a rope. I was informed by me teammates the I fainted."

"Why do you think their assessment is wrong?" Itachi asked.

"Simply because fainting would mean that everything I saw was a lie. From what they said, we were much further up then I originally thought. I was also informed that I just fell down instead of slipping and falling."

"If you suspected a genjutsu, why didn't you dispel it?" Shishui asked.

Harumi shrugged, "Because by the time I had that suspicion, I was already on the ground and my teammates were already fussing over me."

"Is that all?" Kakashi asked.

Harumi nodded slowly.

"Alright, I am going to send Tenzō and Yugao with you to get some lunch packed and to change into something a little more comfortable. You will be spending the day where I can see you," Kakashi held up his hand as Harumi opened her mouth, "Don't bother arguing. You will be where I can see you, this way my team can continue to go through formations and you can rest. We will discuss the protective detail after you have had some rest."

Harumi glared at him but nodded, "Fine," she said as she stood up. "Tenzō," her voice was a much softer tone than the one she used on Kakashi, "can you take me home, I really could use a shower to wash off the smell of surgery."

"Of course, Harumi-san," Tenzō answered as he took Harumi's hand and shunshined them out of ANBU headquarters.

Yugao glared at Kakashi, before fitting her mask in place, pulling up her hood to hide her hair and follow the two people.

"Well that could have been worse," Kakashi said. "However, we do need to keep a closer eye on Harumi, since she is the target right now and her stalker is getting bolder. Attacking her in front of her teammates."

"The common aspect of the whole thing, is that you are nowhere near her, Kakashi-taichou, could this be something against you?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi shook his head, "It is more likely that the stalker knows I will be able to sense him, so he keeps his distance. Any suggestions to who should be assigned to watching Harumi?"

Itachi smirked, "You could get Mouse and Yūgao to do it. I would love to see Mouse's reaction to some of Yūgao's words."

Kakashi gawked at Itachi, "Please tell me you are joking. I have a mean streak, but that is just cruel. No one wants to piss Mouse off when it comes to Harumi."

Itachi shrugged, "Everyone needs to learn to work with someone they don't like. Besides, Harumi is nice and Yugao is just mad that Harumi insulted her healing job."

Shishui frowned, "I noticed that neither of you said I should, or even Itachi for that matter," unhappiness flowing through his voice.

"Since you have shown such a dislike of her, I assumed you didn't want to watch over Harumi-san," Itachi replied.

"Besides," Kakashi interrupted, "You two have more on your plate than the rest of us. The clan problems must be bad if Itachi is trying to ensure Harumi is going to take care of Sasuke."

Shishui frowned, "Is that what you were doing?"

Itachi's lips curled slightly, "If all else fails, she will watch out for Sasuke as if he were her brother. She could even adopt him, her uncle has already told the Hokage that he would help her keep Naruto away from the clans if something were to happen to Kakashi-taichou, so it is a safe assumption that she would try the same for Sasuke."

Shishui put his hand on Itachi's shoulder, "Don't worry cuz, we will find a better solution than the one the impostor Madara has proposed. Your father will listen to you, and if not," Shishui tapped his finger against his temple.

Itachi nodded.

Kakashi stayed quiet but once he decided that the two were done talking about clan business he asked, "Anything more orders from Danzo?"

Itachi shook his head, "Nothing more than just continuing to spy on the Uchihas. I am getting suspicious with the lack of orders from him, to be honest."

Kakashi nodded, "I will talk to Hokage-sama again to see if he has any thoughts. However, he does turn a blind eye to Danzo's projects."

Shishui's eyes flashed red for a moment, "Why wouldn't he? After all, Danzo is doing what he thinks is best for the village all the while Hokage-sama can keep his hands clean."

Kakashi nodded, "I have those thoughts, too Shishui, however I trust Hokage-sama and I will continue to do so until he proves me a liar. In which case I will be one of the first to become a nuk-nin."

Shishui and Itachi looked at their captain in shock, this is the first time Kakashi had ever expressed something other than complete loyalty to the village.

"What are you saying Kakashi-taichou?" Shishui asked.

"Easy, Sarutobi-sama has been given evidence that Danzo is not all that loyal to Konoha, however most of that evidence is rumors with no concrete proof. If we can bring proof of Danzo's treachery, and Sarutobi-sama does nothing, then I have pledged my loyalty to a corrupt system and I will not be part of such a system."

"What will you do with Naruto-chan if that happens?" Itachi asked.

"I don't know, I guess it will depend on Harumi-chan," Kakashi answered truthfully.

"What do you mean?" Shishui asked.

"Well if Harumi-chan is able to keep Naruto, then I will leave him with her, because Harumi will keep Naruto safe. Especially from Danzo and his schemes. She will ensure that Naruto will have a normal childhood with friends and family to back him up if needed." Kakashi shrugged, "It isn't that difficult to decide to leave him here, however if she can't take him, them I will try to take Naruto with me. But I doubt Danzo will allow Naruto to leave Konoha."

"True, he has been very vocal lately in council meetings about taking Naruto and creating the perfect weapon with him," Itachi said, "Father has been talking about it during dinners. At least when he isn't talking in code about the coup."

Shishui put his hand on Itachi's shoulder, "We will find another way, cousin."

Itachi nodded.

Kakashi stood up, "I will meet you two at our usual training grounds, I'm going to find Harumi-chan and make sure she hasn't done anything to Yūgao yet or worse, Yugao tried to do something to Harumi." Kakashi tucked his mask into his hip pouch and shinshuned away to Harumi's roof. Glancing around, he didn't see anything suspicious, nor did he hear anything from her house.

Jumping down to the back door, Kakashi opened the door and walked into the kitchen. Tenzō was sitting at the table, with a small bowl of rice in front of him and a cup of hot tea in his hand.

"Harumi-san made me this while she made one for herself. She is currently upstairs with Yugao outside her door. Harumi-san said that if Yugao came anywhere near her room, Harumi was going to show Yugao what they used to do to medics who were crappy healers."

Kakashi's eye widened, "What did Yugao do?"

"She was wearing her mask, so I didn't see any facial changes, but she did cross her arms and the room was very tense while Harumi made the tea."

"I'm going to talk to Yugao," Kakashi said as he walked up the stairs.

Yugao was standing at the far end of the hallway when Kakashi reached the second floor, "What did you do?" Kakashi asked.

"What makes you think I did anything!" Yugao shot back.

"Because Harumi doesn't threaten people unless she is provoked. She works hard to be kind to people, so again I ask, what did you do?"

"She insulted my healing abilities. I called her on it."

"Wrong, you said that I don't know what I'm talking about because I am nothing but a paper pushing medic who dreams of being able to run missions," Harumi said from her open door.

Harumi was wearing black pants, a black sports bra covered by a short-sleeved mesh armor shirt and a short sleeved hoodie unzipped and a pair of heeled sandals in her hand.

Kakashi stared at Yugao, this was more brutal than she was normally. "Why would she say that?"

Harumi shrugged, "I am going to assume it is because she didn't like my assessment of her healing of you. For that I should apologize, and yell at you for not taking care of yourself. However, I will not apologize for pointing out that the healing could have in fact been more harmful than the actual injury."

"How so?" Yugao asked.

"If Kakashi thought his rib was healed, then he would assume that he was at full strength and not take any precautions for having an injury. It could lead to a fully broken rib which could lead to punctured lungs or floating bones that could cause internal bleeding," Harumi replied, using her free hand to emphasize her point.

"Does that happen often?" Kakashi asked.

Harumi rolled her eyes, "Have you met any of the shinobi in the village?" Pushing away from her door, Harumi moved to walk down the stairs. "Don't you have training or something to drag me too?"

Kakashi gave his signature eye smile and moved to follow. "Yugao, you need to figure out how to work with Haurmi-san. She is our mission until we are called to go outside the village."

"Hai, tachio," the purple haired woman answered before following the two downstairs.

 **AN: Hello again, long time no see. We get to meet all of Team Ro! How exciting. Don't judge Harumi or Yugao too harshly, they are both strong women who have strong opinions. It will be interesting to see how all the men deal with two fighting women.**

 **Since I am at home, I have been struck with inspiration, so hopefully the updates can be a little more consistent, at least until this craziness has calmed down some.**

 **I hope you are all taking care of yourselves. Remember to enjoy the sunshine if you can. This is a difficult time, but seeing the blue sky helps to remind ourselves that this will pass.**


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